CHURCH COMMISSIONERS

Church Attendance

Ben Chapman: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners what the most recent attendance figures for the Church of England are; and if he will make a statement.

Stuart Bell: The latest figures for church attendance reveal growth in adult attendance in 2003 in just over half (i.e. 23) of the dioceses in the Church of England. Nationally, this resulted in a small increase of 1 per cent. in attendance.
	About 1.7 million people attend a church or cathedral for worship each month; 1.2 million do so each week and 1 million each Sunday.

SOLICITOR-GENERAL

Special Advocates

David Kidney: To ask the Solicitor-General what plans the Attorney General has to appoint special advocates under the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 to replace those who have resigned.

Harriet Harman: Two other special advocates have already been appointed from the pool of 12 special advocates to act in the cases in which the two who resigned were instructed.
	One appellant is without a special advocate because of the resignations but we do not expect there will be any practical difficulties with the process of allocating a special advocate to that case.
	The Attorney General will increase the number of special advocates if necessary.

Sentences (Child Sex Offenders)

Dari Taylor: To ask the Solicitor-General how many unduly lenient sentences for sex offences against children have been referred to the Court of Appeal in the last 12 months.

Harriet Harman: Since January last year the Attorney General and I have referred to the Court of Appeal as unduly lenient sentences for sex offences against children 26 cases. The Court of Appeal increased the sentence in 11 and confirmed the original sentence in seven. Eight have yet to be heard.

Crown Prosecution Service

Graham Allen: To ask the Solicitor-General pursuant to the answer of 2 December 2004, Official Report, columns 206–07W, on the Crown Prosecution Service, whether the review of charging arrangements has commenced.

Harriet Harman: In December last year there was a review of the operation in Nottinghamshire of the new charging arrangements whereby the CPS rather than the police make the charge.
	Good progress has been achieved, recommendations for improvement were made and the situation is being monitored.

Crown Prosecution Service

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Solicitor-General what liaison there has been between the Crown Prosecution Service and the Criminal Justice Board in North Yorkshire.

Harriet Harman: The Chief Crown Prosecutor has chaired the board since its inception, and other members of the Crown Prosecution Service locally are working with partner agencies to deliver the board's objectives and targets.
	Solid progress has been made. In particular, North Yorkshire has exceeded the target set for it by increasing the number of offenders brought to justice by 20.2 per cent. against its baseline figure. This is also against a background of falling levels of crime recorded in the county, which are down by 12 per cent. in the period January to December 2004 from the same period in the previous year.

Serious Organised Crime Agency

David Heath: To ask the Solicitor-General if she will make a statement on the role of the prosecutors designated to work with the Serious Organised Crime Agency.

Harriet Harman: The Government believe that prosecution will remain central to the successful disruption and dismantling of organised crime groups.
	There will be a strong and effective prosecution capability, to provide prosecution services to the Serious and Organised Crime Agency.
	The independent prosecution services will be provided by a new cadre of dedicated specialist prosecutors, drawn from the Crown Prosecution Service and the Customs and Excise Prosecutions Office, later the Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office.

Iraq

Tam Dalyell: To ask the Solicitor-General if the Attorney-General will publish her advice to the Government on the legality of the war in Iraq.

Harriet Harman: No. As I indicated in my reply to my hon. Friend of 23 February 2004, Official Report, column 78W, there is a long-standing convention, observed by successive Governments, that advice which the Law Officers have given to the Government is not publicly disclosed.

PRIME MINISTER

Iran

Adam Price: To ask the Prime Minister what information he has (a) received and (b) requested from his US counterpart on US military reconnaissance missions in Iran.

Tony Blair: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 8 November 2004, Official Report, column 578 during my statement on the EU Summit, to the hon. Member for Rochford and Southend, East (Sir Teddy Taylor)

Iraq (Attorney-General)

Adam Price: To ask the Prime Minister whether paragraph 23 of the Ministerial Code was applied in relation to the complete text of the Attorney-General's advice of 7 March 2003.

Tony Blair: The Ministerial Code is a code of conduct and guidance on procedures for Ministers.
	Information relating to internal meetings, discussion and advice and the proceedings of Cabinet and Cabinet Committees is not disclosed as to do so could harm the frankness and candour of internal discussion.

Official Residences

Chris Grayling: To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the arrangements for (a) hon. Members and (b) Members of the Government occupying official residences to contribute to the running costs of those properties.

Tony Blair: The running costs of official residences are the responsibility of the relevant Department.

Official Residences

Chris Grayling: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list the official residences which are occupied by (a) hon. Members and (b) Members of the Government.

Tony Blair: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Wealden (Charles Hendry) on 2 November 2004, Official Report, columns 180–81W.
	There are a number of former Ministers and Prime Ministers who continue to receive special security requirements after leaving office. We therefore take into account the assessment of the threat to them. On this basis, it has been agreed that my right hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield, Brightside (Mr. Blunkett) may continue to have the use of the official residence while his security arrangements are reviewed, and appropriate measures can be put in place.

Treasury Functions (Birt Report)

David Laws: To ask the Prime Minister whether the Government have commissioned a report by Lord Birt on the future functions of Her Majesty's Treasury; and if he will make a statement.

Tony Blair: Information relating to internal meetings, discussion and advice is not disclosed as to do so could harm the frankness and candour of internal discussion.

TRANSPORT

Correspondence

Alex Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he will reply to the letter dated 29 November 2004 from the hon. Member for Banff and Buchan regarding the working time directive for truck drivers.

David Jamieson: I replied to the hon. Member's letter on 11 January.

Departmental Expenditure

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what crèche facilities are provided by his Department; and at what cost.

Charlotte Atkins: The Department has a variety of child care arrangements in place and is currently assessing the practicalities of introducing child care vouchers through salary sacrifice when the introduction of tax and national insurance benefits come into effect from April 2005. Salary sacrifice will be operated at cost neutral with the cost of operating the scheme being offset by savings in employers national insurance contributions.
	The DVLA provides accommodation for a workplace nursery which is managed and run by an external provider. The central department offers a limited number of nursery places at its accommodation in Hastings, shared with ODPM and CSA at a cost of £6,000 per annum.
	The Department also alerts staff to a number of play schemes operated during the school holidays and considers requests from staff to work flexibly as part of its wider child care initiatives.

Gym Provision

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many gyms are available to the staff in the Department; and what the cost of providing them was in the last year for which figures are available.

Charlotte Atkins: The Department provides limited accommodation for gym facilities but has no ongoing costs regarding equipment. Staff may join local sports and social clubs/associations who may operate gym facilities but at no cost to the Department.

Rail Infrastructure (Investment)

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  if he will give for each year since 1995 (a) total, (b) public and (c) private investment in the rail infrastructure in (i) Scotland, (ii) England, (iii) Wales and (iv) Great Britain; and how much was spent on (A) track repair and maintenance, (B) station repair and maintenance, (C) new track, (D) new station facilities, (E) other infrastructure repair and maintenance and (F) new infrastructure in each case;
	(2)  if he will give for each year since 1995 (a) total, (b) public and (c) private spending on the rail infrastructure (i) per person and (ii) per track mile in (A) Scotland, (B) England, (C) Wales and (D) Great Britain.

Tony McNulty: The information is not available in the format requested. Total Government support for the rail industry is set out in table 6.2 of National Rail Trends and total investment in the rail industry is set out in table 6.4 of that document. A copy of National Rail Trends is available in the Library of the House and can be accessed on the Strategic Rail Authority's website at http://www.sra.gov.uk/pubs2/performance_ statistics/nrt

Rail Infrastructure (Investment)

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the maintenance costs for the Forth Rail Bridge were for each year since 2000 (a) in total and (b) as a percentage of track and infrastructure maintenance costs in (i) Scotland and (ii) Great Britain.

Tony McNulty: Network Rail advises that the information is not available in the form requested. However, since 1997 over £30 million has been invested on maintenance and refurbishment of the Forth Bridge.

Rail Infrastructure (Investment)

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether Scottish Executive Ministers will have responsibility for (a) maintaining and (b) paying for the maintenance of the Forth Rail Bridge under his proposals in the Railways Bill.

Tony McNulty: Network Rail is responsible for maintaining the Forth Rail Bridge, and for meeting the initial cost of that maintenance. This is not affected by proposals in the Railways Bill. The Department for Transport and Scottish Executive are currently discussing the arrangements for devolving the responsibility for specifying and funding railway infrastructure in Scotland, as proposed in the White Paper 'The Future of Rail'.

Railways

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many (a) railway stations and (b) miles of railway track there are in (i) Scotland, (ii) England and (iii) Great Britain.

Tony McNulty: Network Rail advises that there are 2,507 railway stations in Great Britain, of which 341 are located in Scotland and 2,166 are located in England and Wales.
	Of the 21,000 miles of track within Great Britain, 2,573 miles are located in Scotland and 18,427 miles are located in England and Wales.

Railways

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what provision he has made for the rejection of community railways by local communities;
	(2)  if he will make a statement on the process by which local communities will be invited to comment on the designation of a railway line as a community railway.

Tony McNulty: Before a line is designated as a community rail line, a formal consultation will take place with local authorities, the Rail Passengers Committee, local stakeholders and any existing community rail partnerships involved with the line. If it is found that there is insufficient local support for the proposition, the line will not be designated as a community rail line and will remain a part of the conventional national rail network.

Railways

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the progress of the Crossrail project.

Tony McNulty: A hybrid Bill seeking powers for the construction and operation of Crossrail will be introduced. An Environmental Statement will be deposited at the same time and will also be available on the internet. Between 10 and 19 February, Cross London Rail Links Ltd. are to undertake an Information Round, which will provide affected parties with further details of the scheme to be set out in the Bill.

Railways

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much land which is not part of the rail network Crossrail will need to acquire in order to complete the project.

Tony McNulty: The Crossrail Bill will set out in detail the powers of compulsory purchase that are being sought and identify the areas of land over which those powers will be exercised. A Bill will be introduced and will be accompanied by an Environmental Statement which will assess the significant likely environmental effects of the Crossrail scheme.

Railways Bill

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether it is his policy that resources allocated to Scottish Executive Ministers as a result of the additional responsibilities to be devolved in the Railways Bill shall be allocated on the basis of (a) historic spending, (b) planned spending, (c) population share and (d) share of stations and track miles; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: The methodology and level of resource transfer to the Scottish Executive is the subject of ongoing discussions with the Executive. I hope to be able to make a substantive announcement shortly.

Taxis

Geoffrey Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what definition he uses of a purpose built taxi.

Charlotte Atkins: We regard a purpose built taxi as a taxi which meets the Metropolitan Conditions of Fitness (MCF). The MCF were devised by the Licensing Authority for London and set out the criteria which taxis in London must meet.

Underground System

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of (a) capital and (b) revenue expenditure (i) in total, (ii) from public and (iii) from private sources for each underground/tube system in the UK in each year since 1995; and what estimate he has made of (A) track, (B) station, (C) other and (D) total repair and maintenance costs for each system in each year since 1995.

Tony McNulty: The information is not available in the format requested. The following table sets out London Underground's capital and revenue expenditure.
	
		London Underground capital and revenue expenditure -- £ million (outturn prices)
		
			  1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000(1) 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 
		
		
			 Capital expenditure2, 3 226 176 134 170 252 293 418 402 668 
			 Jubilee Line Extension 587 660 476 283 655 — — — — 
			 Renewals 275 198 191 244 — — — — — 
			 Total investment 1,088 1,034 801 697 907 293 418 402 668 
			 Of which: Capital expenditure by PPP contractors — — — — — — — 20 476 
			 Revenue Expenditure 624 644 696 785 995 1,156 1,371 1,664 1,930 
		
	
	(1) In April 1999, London Underground adopted new accounting treatment for its investment expenditure which removed the category 'renewals' and reclassified such expenditure as capital or operating costs as appropriate. Therefore the figures up to and including 1998–99 are not directly comparable with those for subsequent years.
	(2) This includes the investment in fixed assets undertaken by the infracos under the PPP contracts, for those assets on LUL's balance sheet.
	(3) This excludes expenditure on assets provided under the PFI contracts, as they are not on LUL's balance sheet.
	Source:
	LUL Directors' Report and Accounts
	London Underground does not record repair and maintenance expenditure by asset type, but the following table sets out repair and maintenance costs.
	
		London Underground: Repair and maintenance, infrastructure companies costs and private finance initiative contract costs -- £ million (outturn prices)
		
			  1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 
		
		
			 Repair and maintenance(4) 203 209 207 244 348 — — — — 
			 Infraco Operating Costs(5) — — — — — 435 574 617 — 
			 PPP Maintenance and Repair(6) — — — — — — — 83 824 
			 PFI contract payments(7) 4 12 15 71 117 164 200 226 197 
			 Total 207 221 222 315 465 599 774 926 1,021 
		
	
	(4) These are the costs incurred on maintaining the operational railway prior to the establishment of the Infracos as separate subsidiary companies. The 1999–2000 figure includes £91 million that under the previous accounting policy would have been included in 'Renewals'.
	(5) Total operating costs of the Infraco subsidiaries while they remained within the LUL Group, which include all maintenance expenditure in those years.
	(6) This is the element of PPP Infrastructure Service Charge allocated which is apportioned to maintenance and included in LUL's profit and loss account.
	(7) Costs include the charges for the services provided under the PFI contracts (Connect, Power, British Transport Police accommodation, Prestige and Northern Line Trains). From the date of transfer of Infraco JNP (1 Jan 2003) the Northern Line Trains contract PFI became the responsibility of Tube Lines.
	The only other underground system in the UK is Glasgow Underground, which is a devolved responsibility of the Scottish Executive and Parliament and on which the Department does not hold the information requested.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Christmas Cards

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many departmental staff have responsibility for preparing Christmas cards.

Alun Michael: A member of staff in Defra's Communications Directorate takes on managing the production of Christmas cards as an additional duty as the festive period approaches. There is no additional staff cost. The estimated cost of answering questions on this issue from the right hon. Member is £221 to date.

Christmas Cards

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many hours of staff time were taken up in preparation of Christmas cards in 2004.

Alun Michael: No record was kept of the time taken by Defra staff to manage the production of Christmas cards but it was minimal and did not involve extra cost.

Christmas Cards

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many official Christmas cards were sent out by her Department in (a) 2003 and (b) 2004.

Alun Michael: The number of official departmental Christmas cards sent out were as follows:
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 2003 7,000 
			 2004 7,000

Christmas Cards

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what percentage of official departmental Christmas cards included a contribution to charity in their cost; and which charities benefited from such a contribution.

Alun Michael: None.

Climate Change Levy

David Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she expects to respond to the application for climate change levy exemption submitted by the British Apparel and Textile Confederation on behalf of Black Sheep Textiles.

Elliot Morley: Black Sheep Textiles submitted an incomplete application in April 2004 for a Climate Change Agreement, which are agreements with energy intensive industries whose participants receive an 80 per cent. discount from the CCL Climate Change Levy in return for meeting energy efficiency targets. My officials asked for the outstanding information from the company via the trade association on several occasions so that the application could be processed. The last request was made in September 2004. When the complete application is received, it will be processed within the usual 10 working days.

Darwin Mounds

Tam Dalyell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the protection afforded to the Darwin Mounds referred to in her letter of 2 July to the hon. Member for Linlithgow.

Ben Bradshaw: Following a request from the Department, on 20 August 2003 the European Commission introduced measures to protect the Darwin Mounds from damaging fishing activities. These restrictions are closely monitored by the Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency. No breaches of the restrictions have been identified.
	In April 2005, the Department will outline details of a proposed research project to determine the current condition of the coral reef structures on the Darwin Mounds.

Energy Efficiency

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many households in Hendon have benefited from (a) Warm Front and (b) Warm Front Plus schemes; how many were pensioners in each case; what the (i) average and (ii) maximum awarded under the scheme was in each case; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: Since the launch of the Warm Front scheme in June 2000 and the end of December 2004 approximately 430 households in Hendon received assistance under Warm Front of which 79 were pensioner households.
	Some 395 pensioner households received assistance under Warm Front Plus.
	The average Warm Front grant to each household was approximately £350 and the average Warm Front Plus grant was approximately £570.
	The grant maxima available under Warm Front is £1,500 and £2,500 is available under Warm Front Plus.

Energy Efficiency

Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of dwellings in England meet or exceed the energy efficiency standard of SAP 65.

Keith Hill: I have been asked to reply.
	On the basis of the 2001 English House Condition Survey, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister estimates that 16 per cent. of the housing stock meets or exceeds SAP 65.

Farm Produce Prices

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the average (a) farmgate and (b) retail price was of (i) one kilogram of (A) beef, (B) lamb, (C) pork, (D) chicken, (E) turkey, (F) bacon, (G) dessert apples, (H) potatoes, (I) carrots, (J) cauliflower, (K) peas and (L) runner beans, (ii) one pint of (x) milk, (y) cream and (z) yoghurt, (iii) one dozen eggs and (iv) one litre of (X) English wine and (Y) brandy in (1) 1975, (2) 1980, (3) 1985, (4) 1990, (5) 1995, (6) 2000, (7) 2003 and (8) 2004, broken down by (I) organic and (II) conventionally produced foodstuffs.

Alun Michael: Where available the farmgate prices and retail prices are shown in the following tables.
	While regular price series are not separately available for organically produced food, prices provided by the Soil Association for 2000 are provided.
	Differences in the level of processing vary by commodity and over time which will affect the trends shown within the tables.
	
		Retail prices(8)
		
			 Product Units 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2003 2004 (9) 
		
		
			 Beef (10) p per kg n/a n/a n/a 347 396 380 377 n/a 
			 Lamb(10) p per kg n/a n/a n/a 310 406 452 518 n/a 
			 Pork(10) p per kg n/a n/a n/a 206 209 200 228 n/a 
			 Chicken(11) p per kg 70 148 176 217 204 223 228 231 
			 Turkey(11) p per kg n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Bacon: gammon(11) p per kg 167 282 379 472 501 545 575 586 
			 Bacon: streaky(11) p per kg 125 183 236 291 309 427 n/a n/a 
			 Apples(11) p per kg 35 53 71 103 101 108 127 126 
			 Potatoes(11) p per kg 10 13 18 34 39 32 52 61 
			 Carrot(11) p per kg 10 29 44 59 54 45 55 58 
			 Cauliflower (11) p per kg 32 53 86 60 67 61 75 70 
			 Peas p per kg n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Runner Beans p per kg n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Milk(11) p per pint 7 17 23 31 36 34 37 35 
			 Cream p per pint n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Yoghurt p per pint n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Eggs(11) p per dozen 36 159 218 121 138 168 168 169 
			 Wine p per bottle n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Brandy p per bottle n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
		
	
	n/a = Information not available
	(8) Prices are consistent with those used in Agriculture in the United Kingdom to calculate the UK farmers' share of the value of a basket of food items.
	(9) 2004 figures are provisional
	(10) Meat and Livestock Commission UK Market Survey Report, untrimmed prices adjusted for drip loss
	(11) Office for National Statistics, average retail prices
	
		Farm-gate prices(12)
		
			 Product Units 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2003 2004(13) 
		
		
			 Beef(14) p per kg n/a n/a n/a 198 228 169 175 n/a 
			 Lamb(14) p per kg n/a n/a 175 176 236 196 268 n/a 
			 Pork(14) p per kg n/a 87 103 113 119 95 104 n/a 
			 Chicken(15) p per kg n/a n/a 89 96 87 71 68 n/a 
			 Turkey(15) p per kg n/a n/a 141 121 124 130 119 n/a 
			 Bacon(15) p per kg n/a 87 103 112 120 95 n/a n/a 
			 Apples(15) p per kg n/a 25 34 51 47 37 59 37 
			 Potatoes(15) p per kg n/a 8 5 11 22 9 8 12 
			 Carrots(15) P per kg n/a 7 9 19 23 17 25 25 
			 Cauliflower (14) p per kg n/a 17 21 24 28 24 28 33 
			 Peas(15) p per kg n/a 16 22 22 19 26 29 30 
			 Runner Beans(15) p per kg n/a 17 28 48 47 88 75 77 
			 Milk(15) p per pint 4 7 9 11 14 10 10 n/a 
			 Cream p per pint n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Yoghurt p per pint n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Eggs(15) p per dozen n/a 44 48 44 39 28 40 n/a 
			 Wine p per bottle n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Brandy p per bottle n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
		
	
	n/a = Information not available
	(12) Prices are consistent with those used in Agriculture in the United Kingdom to calculate the UK farmers' share of the value of a basket of food items.
	(13) 2004 figures are provisional
	(14) Meat and Livestock Commission UK Market Survey Report
	(15) Defra
	
		Estimated farm-gate prices of organic produce in 2000
		
			 Product Units Estimated price 
		
		
			 Beef p per kg 260 
			 Lamb p per kg 300 
			 Pork p per kg 220 
			 Chicken p per kg 375 
			 Apples p per kg 100 
			 Potatoes p per kg 25 to 30 
			 Cauliflower p per kg 70 
			 Peas p per kg 257 
			 Milk p per pint 16 to 17 
			 Eggs p per dozen 140 
		
	
	Source:
	Soil Association

Foot and Mouth

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much money (a) was claimed, (b) was awarded and (c) is contingent liability under foot and mouth financial support; and how much of each of these sums is (i) UK sourced and (ii) European Communities sourced grant.

Ben Bradshaw: Claims to the Department following the 2001 FMD outbreak amounted to £20.84 million, of which £2.23 million was awarded. £226,194 still remains as a potential liability.
	This money was entirely UK sourced as claims to the Department were ineligible for EU re-imbursement.

GM Products

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what correspondence she has received from the European Food Safety Authority with regard to the safety of GM products; and if she will publish the correspondence.

Elliot Morley: My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State, has not received any correspondence from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) concerning the safety of GM products. Defra officials receive regular e-mail updates concerning the status of applications made to EFSA under the provisions of Regulation(EC) 1829/2003 on GM Food and Feed. The content of these updates is publicly available on the EFSA website (http://www.efsa.eu.int/science/gmo/gmffapplications/catindexen.html).
	Recently, officials have also received a request from the EFSA GMO panel requesting the provision of national assessment reports produced on applications for the marketing of GMOs under the provisions of Directive 2001/18/EC. These assessment reports have been provided to EFSA. The Competent Authority for Regulation (EC) 1829/2003 in the UK is the Food Standards Agency.

Gully Closures

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the most common causes are of failure of attempts under the relevant legislation to close alleys or gullies.

Alun Michael: Most applicants have been able to provide clear evidence of the need for designation including evidence from the police, the local crime prevention education partnership and local residents, often backed by representations from councillors and MPs. Of 22 applications received, two were withdrawn. The other 20 were approved and then one was revoked at the request of the local authority concerned.
	So far the successful councils have made a total of 18 extinguishment orders. 15 have been confirmed, two are awaiting decisions having been referred to the Secretary of State because objections were received and a third is expected shortly following an objection.

Veterinary Medicines

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the consultation by the Veterinary Medicines Directorate on the draft Regulations to consolidate UK legislation on veterinary medicines.

Ben Bradshaw: On 4 January 2005 the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) issued a letter to more than 300 organisations and individuals announcing a formal consultation exercise and inviting comments on the draft Veterinary Medicines Regulations 2005 and associated guidance notes which set out revised controls on veterinary medicines. The new Regulations are intended to implement amendments to EU legislation, carry forward some recommendations of the recent Marsh and Competition Commission Reports on the supply of veterinary prescription only medicines, and to simplify and consolidate existing UK legislative provisions which are currently contained in the Medicines Act 1968 and some 50 statutory instruments. It is proposed to replace these with a single set of Regulations containing all the provisions, which will come into force at the end of October 2005 to comply with the timetable for implementing the amended EU requirements.
	The formal consultation exercise follows a series of informal consultation meetings held during the summer and autumn of 2004 with a wide range of organisations at which various aspects of the proposals were discussed. The full consultation package, comprising draft Regulations, 18 draft guidance notes and a draft partial Regulatory Impact Assessment is available on the VMD's website (www.vmd.gov.uk) under "consultations" "current". It is also available from the VMD on CD-ROM or as a paper copy on request. In view of the volume of the package and the wide scope of the Regulations, four months, rather than the standard 12 weeks, is being allowed for comments, which are required by 5 May 2005.
	The key changes contained in the proposals include provisions to:
	improve the clarity of the requirements;
	disapply the Medicines Act 1968 from the regulation of veterinary medicines;
	delete unnecessary provisions from current legislation;
	make Defra's Secretary of State responsible for veterinary medicines legislation;
	permit a veterinary surgeon to dispense another veterinary surgeon's prescription;
	introduce a tiered Prescription Only Medicine (POM) distribution system;
	allow specified qualified people other than veterinarians to prescribe products in the lower tier;
	streamline appeal arrangements;
	abolish the five-yearly renewal requirement;
	increase data protection periods;
	promote the availability of veterinary medicines;
	implement an exemption scheme for products for small pets;
	extend record-keeping requirements; and
	restrict advertising of POM products.

Waste

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many tonnes of waste mercury were produced in (a) 1999–2000, (b) 2000–01, (c) 2001–02 and (d) 2002–03; and how much of this was recycled.

Elliot Morley: A key source of mercury waste arises from the chlor-alkali industry. Annual figures for the three UK mercury cell chlor-alkali plants for the years in question are set out in table 1. Large amounts of mercury will no longer be required when mercury cell plants are decommissioned, although this mercury is pure enough to be re-used without further treatment. Mercury can be present in waste arising from a range of other industries, including from power generation, and mining activities, although there are no aggregated national figures available for these. Mercury is also present in used dental amalgam, some forms of lighting equipment, certain thermometers, thermostats, manometers, some batteries, switches and relays, although the use in all these applications is declining. Implementation of the WEEE Directive and the hazardous waste regulations should encourage the greater recovery and recycling of mercury from these sources.
	
		Table 1: Mercury disposal and emissions fromUK chlor-alkali plant(16) -- kilogrammes
		
			  Mercury in safely deposited wastes 
		
		
			 1999 4,109 
			 2000 3,408 
			 2001 3,252 
			 2002 10,994 
			 2003 21,484 
		
	
	(16) This includes all mercury-contaminated materials, such as cell components, process equipment, solid wastes from sumps, pits, demercurisation units and the brine purification process, which have been sent to authorised and properly controlled waste disposal sites.

CABINET OFFICE

Butler Review

Julian Lewis: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office further to the Prime Minister's answer of 14 December 2004, Official Report, column 1005W to the hon. Member for Daventry (Mr. Boswell) on the Butler Review, whether there is (a) an informal group and (b) a formal ad hoc Cabinet Committee to consider policy towards Iraq.

Tony Blair: I have been asked to reply.
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 25 October 2004, Official Report, column 1024W to my hon. Friend the Member for Liverpool, Walton (Mr. Kilfoyle)

Civil Servants

Vincent Cable: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many senior civil servants left the Government for the private sector and were vetted by the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments during 2004; and if he will list their (a) civil service and (b) private sector posts.

David Miliband: Information about applications considered by the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments is published in the Advisory Committee's Annual Reports, copies of which are available in the Library.
	Information for the period up to 31 March 2004 is set out in the Committee's sixth report which is available in the Library.

E-mails

Norman Baker: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what his policy is on the deletion of e-mails; when this last changed; and how.

David Miliband: It is Cabinet Office policy that all emails that form part of the official record must be printed and placed on existing paper files. This includes emails that contribute to the full understanding of a decision or results in action being taken. In December 2004 a three month time limit was introduced in relation to the time emails in inboxes, sent items and deleted items would be kept before automatic deletion.

E-mails

Norman Baker: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  what guidance he has issued to other departments in respect of the deletion of emails;
	(2)  what guidance he issues to Government departments on circumstances under which paper copies may be kept of emails which have been deleted.

Christopher Leslie: I have been asked to reply.
	The Department for Constitutional Affairs has issued guidance to departments on records management, including the management of information held electronically, to all departments—specifically in relation to the full implementation of the Freedom of Information Act on 1 January 2005.
	Good records and information management is fundamental to the effectiveness of the Freedom of Information Act. Parliament has recognised this by providing a Code of Practice on the Management of Records under section 46 of the FOI Act.
	All the guidance provided to departments is also publicly available on the departmental website at http://www.foi.gov.uk/quidance/proguide/index.htm.

E-mails

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will make a statement on the Office's policy regarding the retention of e-mails in electronic form (a) after and (b) up to 1 January 2005; and what instructions have been given regarding the deletion of e-mails prior to 1 January 2005.

David Miliband: The Department continues to implement well established policies and procedures for the review and disposal of files in accordance with its administrative needs and the Public Records Act.
	Email messages that form part of the official record are saved for as long as business needs require and stored corporately in accordance with departmental record management procedures. Further email guidance is available on the National Archives web site at:
	http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/electronicrecords/advice/pdf/managing emails.pdf
	It is departmental policy that all emails that form part of the record must be printed and placed on existing paper files. This includes emails that contribute to the full understanding of a decision or results in action being taken. In December 2004 a three month time limit was introduced in relation to the time emails in inboxes, sent items and deleted items would be kept before automatic deletion.

Government IT Equipment

John Pugh: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what assessment he has made of the amount of Government IT equipment scrapped in the last 12 months; and what the average age of such equipment was.

David Miliband: Individual departments are responsible for the disposal of their information technology equipment and no central records are kept.

Record Keeping

Julian Lewis: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what (a) guidelines and (b) other regulations have been promulgated since July 2004 on procedures for record-keeping by (i) informal groups and (ii) formal ad hoc Cabinet Committees engaged in considering policy issues.

David Miliband: The arrangements for recording decisions which are the collective responsibility of Ministers are set out in the Ministerial Code and have not changed since July 2004.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Amusement Arcades

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what reports she has received of difficulties experienced by the proprietors of amusement arcades and similar attractions which undertake joint operations between schedule C and schedule D in ensuring that prohibited persons take no part in activities covered by schedule C; and how many proprietors have (a) lost their licenses and (b) been prosecuted as a result of such breaches.

Richard Caborn: The revoking of licences and bringing prosecutions for breach of licence conditions is a matter for local authorities.
	I have received no reports of difficulties experienced by the proprietors of amusement arcades and similar attractions, in ensuring that children and young people do not play category C machines.

Amusement Arcades

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what her policy is on (a) the duration of grandfather rights to proprietors of schedule D amusement arcades, (b) the grant of such rights to joint operations between schedule C and schedule D and (c) the steps which need to be taken by a proprietor to secure for himself such rights as may be granted; and what exceptions to the legislation are to be provided by the grandfather rights.

Richard Caborn: Under the Gambling Bill grandfather rights will be granted to all current proprietors of amusement arcade establishments that offer gaming machines under part III of the 1968 Gaming Act.
	Where existing arcade premises offer what will become known as category D gaming machines, they will become entitled to receive a family entertainment centre gaming machine permit. Where existing premises offer a mixture of category C and category D gaming machines, they will need to apply for, and be granted an operating licence from the Gambling Commission, and they will be entitled to receive a family entertainment centre premises licence from their local authority.
	In all cases, the existing operator will need to apply for the necessary permit or licences, and to pay a fee. In the case of the family entertainment centre gaming machine permit and the family entertainment centre premises licence the grandfather rights mean that the local authority must grant these applications. They will have no power to reject the applications, or to impose conditions which alter the existing rights of the operator. However, all gaming machines must comply with the Bill's requirements on which category of machine may be used (from A to D), and the stakes and prizes for each.
	Once grandfathered, the permits or licences will operate in the same manner as any new permit or licence. Therefore, there is no enduring duration of the grandfather rights. For example, should an operator breach the terms of a licence, the Gambling Commission will be able to review it, and may impose a penalty, including the revocation of the licence. The permits have a ten year duration, and that applies to grandfathered permits also.

Public Service Publisher

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what role is envisaged for the proposed public service publisher; what its budget will be; who will fund its establishment; and what plans she has for its relationship with (a) the BBC and (b) regional independent broadcasters.

Estelle Morris: The establishment of a public service publisher was a proposal made by Ofcom in Phase 2 of its Public Service Television review. Ofcom has conducted a public consultation on all of its proposals and will publish its final conclusions and recommendations in due course. The Government will of course consider those recommendations very carefully, against the background of BBC Charter Review and other relevant factors.

Theatre

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much lottery funding the Arts Council has committed for theatre building and improvement schemes in each of the last three years; and what proportion of the total Arts Council lottery funding this constituted in each year.

Estelle Morris: The figures as requested, which have been provided by Arts Council England, are as follows. These do not include spend on multi-purpose arts venues that may also include theatre.
	
		
			  Arts Council investment in theatre building/improvement (£) Total Arts Council lottery grants (£) Proportion of total spend (percentage) 
		
		
			 2001–02 237,000 162,833,277 0.15 
			 2002–03 9,340,702 116,792,619 8.00 
			 2003–04 22,209,805 168,187,878 13.21

TV Licence Fee Evasion

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the most recent television licence fee evasion rates are for the United Kingdom; and what plans she has to publish a regional breakdown of evasion rates.

Estelle Morris: The estimated television licence evasion rate as at the end of March 2004 was 5.7 per cent. The BBC, who produce the evasion estimates and maintain the statistical model on which they are based, have indicated that the data required to produce accurate estimates, much of which relies on external sources, are not available at regional and local levels. The Government therefore have no plans to publish estimates of regional evasion rates.

CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Departmental Expenditure

George Osborne: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the running costs of the Department were in each year since 1997, broken down by (a) electricity, (b) water, (c) gas, (d) telephones, (e) mobile telephones and (f) televisions.

David Lammy: The running costs of the Department, which covers costs for the Court Service, the Public Guardianship Office and DCA Headquarters, for (a) electricity, (b) water, (c) gas, (d) telephones and (e) mobile phones are set out in the following table:
	
		Total DCA
		
			 Period Electricity Water Gas Telephones Mobile Phones 
		
		
			 1998–99 3,984 779 829 3,635 72 
			 1999–2000 4,137 859 854 4,277 225 
			 2000–01 3,478 722 963 4,454 202 
			 2001–02 3,720 797 1,430 4,257 223 
			 2002–03 3,326 772 1,385 4,674 267 
			 2003–04 3,816 889 1,439 5,323 296 
			 2004–05(17) 2,590 602 767 3,086 222 
		
	
	(17) To 30 November
	It is not possible to provide the running costs of the Department for (f) televisions without incurring disproportionate cost
	Information on 1997–98 is not readily available.

E-mails

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs if he will make a statement on his Department's policy regarding the retention of e-mails in electronic form (a) after and (b) up to 1 January 2005; and what instructions have been given regarding the deletion of e-mails prior to 1 January 2005.

Christopher Leslie: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Guildford (Sue Doughty) on 10 January 2005, Official Report, column 118W.

Magistrates

Michael Meacher: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the balance of political affiliations is on each of the magistrates benches in (a) England and Wales and (b) Northern Ireland.

Christopher Leslie: Political affiliation has not been used as an indicator for balance on the magistrates bench since November 2003 in England and Wales and has never been recorded in Northern Ireland.

Parking Spaces

John Mann: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many car parking spaces are provided for those (a) working in and (b) visiting his Department.

David Lammy: This response relates to the DCA HQ estate and associated offices only since the Court Service does not hold any records on this centrally and would have to incur a disproportionate cost to collect the information.
	The number of car parking spaces provided for those working in and visiting the DCA HQ estate is 127.

Telephone Usage

Paul Tyler: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs 
	(1)  how many non-geographic 0870 telephone numbers are in use by his Department; and what services can be accessed by calling each of them;
	(2)  how much revenue his Department has received from the use of non-geographic 0870 telephone numbers for the period 1 October 2003 to 30 September 2004.

David Lammy: The Department has 481 0870 numbers on its Goldfax system. This system allows network PC users to receive faxes direct to their desktops in the form of gif files. No revenue is produced from these calls.
	The Department's central recruitment unit uses 41 0870 numbers for its recruitment campaigns. The revenue produced from these calls from when the system was set up in December 2003, until 7 October 2004, was £2,615.07

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

African Union Summit (Gabon)

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the progress made at the African Union summit in Gabon on the issues of (a) Cote d'Ivoire, (b) Sudan and (c) the Democratic Republic of the Congo; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Mullin: We welcome the African Union's (AU) endorsement of President Mbeki's peace plan for Cote d'Ivoire, which focuses on the adoption of all texts emanating from the Linas-Marcoussis Agreement; the implementation of the Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintergration (DDR) programme; the effective functioning of the National Transitional Government; and the establishment, throughout the country, of a climate conducive to the restoration of peace and stability in Cote d'Ivoire. We hope that the AU's commitment will encourage all sides to work together to bring about a sustainable peace.
	We support the conclusions of the African Union Peace and Security Council on Sudan. In particular, we condemn the violations of the ceasefire by both sides and have made clear to the parties that they must stop the fighting and co-operate fully with the African Union and the rest of the international community.
	We welcome the commitments made by the AU to continue to support the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) peace process and to work towards improving relations between DRC and Rwanda.

Armament Sales (China)

John Wilkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the effect on UK relations with the Republic of Taiwan of approval by the United Kingdom Government of the lifting of the EU's embargo on the sale of armaments to the People's Republic of China.

Bill Rammell: We do not recognise Taiwan as a State. Despite having no diplomatic ties we enjoy good relations in areas such as trade, investment, culture and education.
	We take every appropriate opportunity to convey to the Taiwanese authorities, through informal channels, and to the Chinese Government our strong opposition to the use of force or to any action that raises cross-straits tensions.
	As my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary pointed out to the Quadrapite Committee on 12 January, the European Council meeting in December 2004 emphasised that the result of any decision on the lifting of the EU arms embargo should not be an increase in arms exports to China either in quantitative or qualitative terms.

Armament Sales (China)

John Wilkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the effects on the level of threat to the security of the People's Republic of China of the lifting of the EU's embargo on the sale of armaments.

Bill Rammell: The arms embargo review, announced by the December 2003 European Council, is ongoing. Until the review process is complete, the Government continues to implement the arms embargo as set out by the then Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the late Derek Fatchett, in his reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Gedling (Vernon Coaker) on 3 June 1998 Official Report, columns 240–41.
	The Government do not believe that a decision to lift the embargo would affect the security of the People's Republic of China or any country or territory in the region since arms exports would remain covered by the EU code of conduct.

Armament Sales (China)

John Wilkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has received from the US Government on lifting the EU's embargo on the sale of armaments to the People's Republic of China.

Bill Rammell: As my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary told the Committee on Strategic Export Controls on 12 January 2005, the US has a legitimate and understandable interest both in the effectiveness of the EU's system of arms control and in the stability of the east Asian region. Representatives of the UK and US Governments, at all levels, have therefore discussed the issue. However, the review of the EU arms embargo and any decisions arising from it are to be undertaken by the EU only. The EU will take all relevant factors into account in the review.

Correspondence

Brian Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he expects to make a final response to the letter from the hon. Member for Bolton, South-East, of 7 October 2004, regarding the case of Mr. Mohammed Howaz's daughter-in-law, ref. GV100/83465.

Chris Mullin: I replied on 19 January.

Cote d'Ivoire

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the impact on the stabilisation process of Cote d'Ivoire of the proposed referendum on the presidential candidature of Alassane Ouattara; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Mullin: We support the package of actions for all parties set out in the Linas Marcoussis (LMA) and Accra III Agreements, and believe that these offer the best hope for lasting peace in Cote d'Ivoire.
	We recognise, as does the African Union, that a referendum is one of the options for changing the nationality requirements for presidential candidature (Article 35) but share their view that there needs to be a speedy solution to this issue in compliance with the spirit of the LMA and Accra III.

Eritrea

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will press the European Union to consider imposing sanctions against Eritrea in response to its treatment of evangelical Christians.

Chris Mullin: The Government have no plans to press for sanctions against Eritrea on this issue. We believe this would be counterproductive.

Eritrea

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the government of Eritrea on (a) releasing evangelical Christians arrested on new year's eve in Asmara, (b) official recognition of the evangelical Protestant Christian denominations in Eritrea and (c) detentions of evangelical Christians; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Mullin: We raise the issue of religious freedom with the Eritrean Government regularly. Our Ambassador last raised the matter on 13 December and I raised it with President Isaias in Asmara during my visit there in January last year. We will continue to make clear our concern.

EU Presidency

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the Government's priorities for the General Affairs and External Relations Council will be during the United Kingdom's Presidency of the European Union; and if he will make a statement.

Denis MacShane: The UK Presidency, like all Presidencies, will manage the continued priorities of the European Union. These will include:
	Reaching an agreement on the future financing of the EU (2007–13) if not already resolved.
	Taking forward as appropriate the accession processes of the four candidate countries: Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia and Turkey. This is likely to include finalising the negotiating mandate for Turkey to enable the launch of its negotiations on 3 October as well as consideration of the Commission Regular Reports on each of the candidate countries.
	The UK Presidency will also respond to events and pursue the objective of global stability through continued development of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) including the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP), along the lines set out in the European Security Strategy (ESS). An important aspect will be to work closely with the United States.
	Work will continue to develop the EU's relations with its neighbours through the European Neighbourhood Policy including developing relations with Ukraine following the recent elections. The EU will also continue to build up its strategic relationship with Russia.
	Work will continue to resolve the situation in the Middle East, through the implementation of the Road Map, and to address the situation in Iran, including the issue of Iran's nuclear programme. The General Affairs and External Relations Council (GAERC) will continue to implement the EU strategy for Iraq in partnership with the Iraqi government with the objective of achieving a stable, democratic and prosperous future as envisaged in United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1546.
	Work will continue to review, update and implement the EU action plan on combating terrorism and the EU strategy against the proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction.
	Work will continue to develop the EU's relations with Africa, taking into account work going on in the G8 context and the recommendations of the Commission for Africa. Particular attention will be paid to reducing poverty, economic development, prevention management and resolution of conflict and improving governance. In Latin America the GAERC will aim to make further progress to finalise the EU-Mercosur negotiations. The GAERC will continue to build up strategic partnerships with China, India and Japan.
	In the field of military crisis management, particular attention will be devoted to the running of the EU Force operation Althea in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In 2005, the two first six-monthly reviews of the operation will be carried out. The Union will remain active in the field of civilian crisis management and look to implement the action plan for the future of civilian ESDP. The EU will continue to run effectively the ongoing mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Republic of Macedonia, and Georgia.

European Union

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what sanctions would be available under the proposed EU constitution against member states in breach of their duty under Articles I-16 (a) actively and unreservedly to support the Union's common foreign and security policy and (b) to refrain from action contrary to the Union's interests or likely to impair its effectiveness.

Denis MacShane: The Article I-16 obligations referred to in the question are in substance the same as those first set out in Article J.1 (4) of the Maastricht treaty (currently Article 11(2) TEU). As under the Maastricht treaty and the treaty on European Union, member states are under the constitutional treaty required to comply in good faith with their treaty obligations, including those relating to the common foreign and security policy mentioned in Article I-16. Any consequences which might follow if a member state failed to fulfil its obligations would depend on the circumstances. But the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice is excluded from common foreign and security policy issues by Article III-376.

House of Lords/European Parliament

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether a derogation from EU Treaty provisions was granted to the United Kingdom which allows dual membership of the House of Lords and the European Parliament; and if he will make a statement.

Denis MacShane: The Act concerning the election of the representatives of the European Parliament (annexed to Council Decision 76/787 of 20 September 1976 as amended by Council Decision 2002/772), provides that, from the European Parliament elections in 2004, the office of member of the European Parliament shall be incompatible with that of member of a national parliament. That Article also provides that, by way of derogation from that rule, members of the United Kingdom Parliament who were also members of the European Parliament during the five year term preceding election to the European Parliament in 2004 may have a dual mandate until the 2009 European Parliament elections.
	The ban imposed by this Article, and the derogation it provides, apply in respect of membership of either House of the United Kingdom Parliament.

Mr Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the current position with regard to (a) Mr. Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, imprisoned in Pakistan, and (b) his Department's involvement in this case.

Chris Mullin: We continue to raise the case of Mr. Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh with the Pakistani authorities in London and Islamabad. We have offered consular assistance to Mr. Sheikh and shall continue to seek clarification on whether he wishes to take up this offer.

Portugal

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  what plans he has for disposal of the assets comprising the British consulate in Oporto when the post is closed;
	(2)  what use will be made of funds raised from the disposal of the property and land occupied by the British consulate in Oporto when the post is closed;
	(3)  if he will publish the disposition attachment of the will of the late Evelyn Teage pertaining to the closure of the British consulate in Oporto;
	(4)  what legal advice he has taken on the status of the property and land occupied by the British consulate in Oporto after closure of the post;
	(5)  what sales have previously been made of land occupied by the British consulate in Oporto; and what happened to the proceeds under the terms of the Evelyn Teage Will Trust.

Bill Rammell: Following the announcement of the closure of the Consulate in Oporto in December 2004, the Trustees are considering, with legal advice, the future of the property and the fund against the background of the intentions of Evelyn Teage's bequest.
	In 1994, the Trustees sold part of the land attached to the consulate. The proceeds were used to renovate the house; to pay off debts to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office who had been paying maintenance of the property; to construct new offices and to provide a long-term fund to maintain the remaining property.

SCOTLAND

Conferences

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many conferences were (a) attended by officials from his Department, (b) cancelled by and (c) facilitated by his Department in each year since 1997; and what the (i) cost to the Department and (ii) location was in each case.

Anne McGuire: The Scotland Office was established on 1 July 1999. Information in the form requested is not held centrally.

Departmental Properties

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many properties are held by the Department; what total floor space these properties provide; how many properties are vacant; and how much floor space vacant properties comprise.

Anne McGuire: The Scotland Office leases two buildings, which are shared with the Office of the Advocate-General for Scotland. In addition, some staff are accommodated in buildings owned or leased by the Scottish Executive. The total floor space of accommodation occupied by the Scotland Office and the Office of the Advocate-General is 2,760 sq m. There are no vacant properties.

E-mails

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on his Department's policy regarding the retention of e-mails in electronic form (a) after and (b) up to 1 January 2005; and what instructions have been given regarding the deletion of e-mails prior to 1 January 2005.

Anne McGuire: The Scotland Office continues to implement well established policies and procedures for the review and disposal of files in accordance with its administrative needs and the Public Records Act. E-mail messages that form part of the official record are saved for as long as business needs require and stored corporately in accordance with departmental record management procedures. Further e-mail guidance is available on the National Archives website at:
	http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/electronicrecords/advice/pdf/managing_emails.pdf.
	No instructions were given to staff about the deletion of e-mails prior to 1 January 2005.

G8 Summit (Gleneagles)

Tam Dalyell: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what estimate he has made of the costs of security for the G8 summit at Gleneagles.

Anne McGuire: It is not customary to disclose the security costs for such events. Discussions on the overall arrangements, including resource matters, are continuing between relevant Government Departments.

IT (Disciplinary Procedures)

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many staff in his Department have (a) received official warnings and (b) faced disciplinary procedures following breaches of IT policy in each year since 1997.

Anne McGuire: The Scotland Office was established on 1 July 1999. Since, April 2000, when records began, three members of staff have received warnings following minor breaches of IT policy.

Ministerial Engagements

John Gummer: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the ministerial engagements (a) out of London and (b) in London that he has cancelled since 1 January 2004.

Anne McGuire: My right hon. Friend and I carry out frequent engagements both in and outside London and it is occasionally necessary to cancel such engagements for parliamentary or other ministerial business. No record is kept of cancelled engagements.

Press Officers

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many press officers are employed in the Department.

Anne McGuire: The Scotland Office currently has two press officers, one of whom is part-time, and there is also one vacant post.

Skye Toll Bridge

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what the estimates were of the cost of building the Skye Toll Bridge when the private finance initiative agreement to build it was agreed in 1986.

Anne McGuire: Responsibility and documentation relating to the construction and financing of the Skye Bridge are devolved matters for the Scottish Executive. The Scotland Office has no continuing responsibility and does not hold information about the Skye Bridge.

Stolen Property

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many civil servants from his Department have (a) faced disciplinary proceedings as a result of allegations of theft, (b) been charged with theft and (c) been dismissed following theft allegations in each year since 1997.

Anne McGuire: The Scotland Office was established on 1 July 1999. Since then, no staff have faced disciplinary proceedings, charges or faced dismissal as a result of theft allegations.

Telephone Numbers

Paul Tyler: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many non-geographic 0870 telephone numbers are in use by his Department; and what services can be accessed by calling each of them.

Anne McGuire: The Scotland Office has no 0870 telephone numbers in use.

Telephone Numbers

Paul Tyler: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much revenue his Department has received from the use of non-geographic 0870 telephone numbers for the period 1 October 2003 to 30 September 2004.

Anne McGuire: As the Scotland Office has no 0870 telephone numbers in use, there is no revenue.

WORK AND PENSIONS

CSA

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many Child Support Agency cases are on the (a) new and (b) old systems.

Chris Pond: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mr. Doug Smith. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	Letter from Doug Smith to Mr. John Mann dated 20 January 2005
	In reply to your recent parliamentary question about the Child Support Agency the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Child Support Agency cases are on the (a) new and (b) old systems. There are around 1.36 million cases currently being dealt with by the Child Support Agency. Of these cases over 587,000 have been registered on the new system; approximately 360,000 of these cases are being dealt with under the new legislation and 227,000 under the old legislation. In addition around 770,000 are currently old scheme cases on the old computer system.

Health and Safety Offences

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many employees have been (a) prosecuted and (b) convicted for health and safety offences under section 7 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 in each year since 1974.

Jane Kennedy: The numbers of employees prosecuted and convicted for offences under section 7 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 in each of the last eight years, in cases following HSE investigations, are as follows:
	
		
			  Number of employees 
			  Prosecuted Convicted 
		
		
			 1996–97 10 10 
			 1997–98 12 11 
			 1998–99 13 12 
			 1999–2000 17 13 
			 2000–01 15 14 
			 2001–02 22 17 
			 2002–03 19 15 
			 2003–04 (18) 25 19 
		
	
	(18) Figures for 2003–04 are provisional.
	Notes:
	1. Attempting to obtain previous years' figures would incur disproportionate cost. Similar figures for local authority cases are not available from the (voluntary) local authority returns on health and safety enforcement.
	2. Year refers to operational year which runs from 1 April to 31 March.

Health and Safety Offences

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many company directors have been (a) prosecuted and (b) convicted for health and safety offences under section 37 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 in each year since 1974.

Jane Kennedy: The number of company directors or other senior corporate officers prosecuted and convicted for offences under section 37 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 in each year since 1974 in each of the last eight years, in cases following HSE investigations, are as follows:
	
		
			  Number of individuals 
			  Prosecuted Convicted 
		
		
			 1996–97 17 15 
			 1997–98 6 5 
			 1998–99 9 9 
			 1999–2000 17 12 
			 2000–01 16 15 
			 2001–02 16 11 
			 2002–03 18 9 
			 2003–04(19) 12 10 
		
	
	(19) Figures for 2003–04 are provisional.
	Notes:
	1. Attempting to obtain previous years' figures would incur disproportionate cost. Similar figures for local authority cases are not available from the (voluntary) local authority returns on health and safety enforcement.
	2. Year refers to operational year which runs from 1 April to 31 March.

Housing

Candy Atherton: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will grant to board members of housing associations and trusts a state benefit waiver having the effect of disregarding remuneration they receive as a result of their service on a housing association board.

Chris Pond: Income related benefits, such as income support, income based jobseekers allowance and pension credit, are intended to help people whose resources are insufficient to meet their day-to-day living expenses. Any remuneration paid to board members is treated in the same way as other types of earnings and attracts the normal £5, £10 or £20 earnings disregard. However, expenses are fully disregarded where the expenses were incurred wholly, exclusively and necessarily in the performance of the board members duties.
	Housing benefit and council tax benefit are payable to people on low income, whether or not they are in remunerative work. However, as with the other income related benefits, remuneration for housing association board members is treated the same as all other earned income; everything in excess of standard disregards is taken into account.
	For those in receipt of incapacity benefit, which is normally paid to people who are incapacitated by the effects of their illness or disability, the permitted work rules introduced in April 2002 will apply. Incapacity benefit recipients are now able to earn up to £20 a week for an unlimited period, or, from 1 October 2004, work for less than 16 hours and earn up to £78 a week for 26 weeks.
	We have no plans to change the way in which this type of income is treated.

Housing

Candy Atherton: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many representatives serving on housing association and trust boards have had benefits cut as a result of such service in the last 12 months.

Chris Pond: The information is not available in the format requested and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

New Deal

Mark Fisher: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in Stoke-on-Trent have found work through new deal programmes since they were introduced.

Jane Kennedy: The new deal has been very successful in helping more than 1.2 million people into work including 6,350 in Stoke-on-Trent.
	Information on numbers helped into work by each new deal programme is listed in the following table.
	
		Number of people who have found work through new deal programmes in Stoke-on-Trent
		
			  New deal for young people New deal 25 plus New deal for lone parents New deal 50 plus Total 
		
		
			 Stoke-on-Trent central 1,260 460 490 160 2,360 
			 Stoke-on-Trent north 810 220 440 180 1,660 
			 Stoke-on-Trent south 1,110 300 770 150 2,330 
			 Total 3,180 980 1,700 490 6,350 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. All data is to September 2004, except for new deal 50 plus which is to March 2003.
	2. New deal for disabled people and new deal for partners is not available at parliamentary constituency level.
	3. Totals may not sum as figures for each year are rounded to the nearest 10.
	4. Programmes were introduced as follows: new deal for young people January 1998, new deal 25 plus July 1998, new deal for young people October 1998, new deal 50 plus April 2000.
	Source:
	New Deal Evaluation Database, DWP Information and Analysis Directorate

Nuclear Industry

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he last discussed with the chief inspector for the Nuclear Industry Inspectorate the impact of the dispute with Prospect.

Jane Kennedy: I have not discussed directly with the acting chief inspector of the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate (NII) the impact of the HSE pay dispute on the work of NII, but I have received advice from him. In his opinion the dispute has not resulted in a less than adequate level of nuclear regulatory oversight to date.
	I am keeping the matter under discussion at my regular meetings with senior officials from the Health and Safety Executive.

Nuclear Industry

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent proposals he has made to end the dispute with Prospect in the nuclear industry.

Jane Kennedy: The dispute between the Health and Safety Executive and Prospect came about as a result of the 2003 pay award. I am advised by the Executive that the 2004 pay negotiations with the trade unions are underway—with both sides keen to reach an agreed settlement and end the dispute with Prospect as soon as possible. There are still issues to resolve but both sides believe that this year's negotiations have been productive. The trade unions are considering a revised offer made by HSE on 10 January and the two sides intend to meet again by the end of January.

Post Office Card Account

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what restrictions data protection legislation places on the issuing of personal invitation documents for a Post Office card account for child benefit.

Dawn Primarolo: I have been asked to reply.
	The Inland Revenue takes its obligations under the Data Protection Act 1998 very seriously. The Department's procedures for issuing invitations to apply for a Post Office card account comply with the provisions of the Act.

Pensioners

John Cummings: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) men and (b) women were in receipt of the state retirement pension in the Easington constituency in each of the last five years.

Malcolm Wicks: The numbers of state pension recipients in the parliamentary constituency of Easington for March 2000 to March 2004 are shown in the following table:
	
		
			 March: Male recipient Female recipient 
		
		
			 2000 6,000 9,600 
			 2001 5,900 9,500 
			 2002 5,900 9,400 
			 2003 6,000 9,200 
			 2004 6,000 9,300 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Figures are taken from a 5 per cent. sample and are therefore subject to a high degree of sampling variation.
	2. Data is rounded to the nearest 100.
	3. Parliamentary constituencies are assigned by matching postcodes against the relevant Office for National Statistics postcode directory.
	4. Figures show all people getting a state pension i.e. a category A, B, C or D state pension or graduated retirement benefit.
	Source:
	IAD Information Centre, 5 per cent. sample as at 31 March for the years shown.

Stachybotrys Chartarum

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what action his Department has taken in conjunction with the Health and Safety Executive and other agencies to assess (a) the prevalence and (b) appropriate action to deal with the toxic mould fungus stachybotrys chartarum in (i) the workplace and (ii) the wider environment.

Jane Kennedy: The Department for Work and Pensions and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) are not engaged in any specific action to assess the prevalence of the mould Stachybotrys chartarum in the workplace. HSE does not assess the effect of microorganisms in the wider environment and is not aware of any assessment of the mould's prevalence by other agencies.
	Employers have a statutory duty to identify workplace risks from all biological agents (including moulds) and to put control measures in place to manage those risks under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 and Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH). Guidance on assessing risks to workers is available in the COSHH Approved Code of Practice and other guidance documents.

Winter Fuel Allowance

Bill Etherington: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) pensioners and (b) pensioner households in Sunderland (i) are eligible for winter fuel allowance, (ii) have not yet received their entitlement and (iii) have reported non-receipt of their allowance; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: It is not possible to provide an estimate of the number of people or households in Sunderland who are eligible to receive a winter fuel payment. Nor is it possible to say how many have not yet received their entitlement. The great majority of those who are entitled to a payment receive this automatically. Others have until 30 March 2005 to make their claim. So far there have been 78 reports of non-receipt of the winter fuel payment from people in Sunderland. These are being investigated and payments posted as appropriate.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Affordable Housing

Oona King: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what proportion of the low cost home ownership units being built or acquired in Tower Hamlets between 2004 and 2006 housing associations have been reported as being for people from black and minority ethnic communities.

Keith Hill: 668 Low Cost Home Ownership properties in Tower Hamlets were allocated grant in the 2004–06 Approved Development Programme. Of these 361 dwellings (54 per cent.) have been identified by Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) in their bids as being intended for people from black and minority ethnic communities. Allocations are subject to variation.

Boot Estate

Robert Wareing: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what plans he has to visit the Boot Estate in Norris Green, Liverpool; and if he will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: My right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister currently has no plans to visit the Boot Estate in Norris Green, Liverpool.

Boot Estate

Robert Wareing: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when the Minister of State for Housing and Planning will reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Liverpool, West Derby of 9 December 2004 in respect of the Boot Estate, Norris Green, Liverpool.

Keith Hill: I replied to my hon. Friend on 18 January 2005.

External Supplies

John Mann: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many tenders were let by his Department to external suppliers in financial year 2003–04; and what the value was.

Yvette Cooper: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister was formed in May 2002 and since its inception has operated devolved procurement arrangements. Although certain information relating to procurement activity is centrally managed, the number of tenders issued by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister during this period is not held centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Greater London Assembly

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the value for money of the Greater London Assembly.

Keith Hill: Londoners voted for a Mayor and Assembly for London in a referendum in 1998. The Greater London Authority, constituting the Mayor and Assembly, came in to existence in 2000 and is accountable to the voters of London.
	The Mayor provides strategic leadership over London-wide issues while the Assembly's role is to scrutinise the Mayor's activities. The Audit Commission has recently carried out an Initial Performance Assessment of the Authority. The results will be published shortly.

Homelessness

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many homeless households on average were in (a) temporary accommodation and (b) bed and breakfast accommodation in England in each year since 1990–91.

Yvette Cooper: Local authorities report their activities under homelessness legislation quarterly, and this includes the number of homeless households in temporary accommodation as on the last day of the quarter. Tabled as follows are the numbers of such households distinguished by accommodation type, including bed and breakfast, as at 31 March for each year since 1991, together with a four quarter annual average for each year.
	
		Households in temporary accommodation1 arranged by local authorities under homelessness legislation as at 31 March, together with the annual average for each financial year -- England
		
			   Bed and breakfast hotels(21) Hostels/Women's refuges 
			  Total number of households Number Percentage of total Number Percentage of total 
		
		
			 March 1991 50,000 12,240 24 10,230 20 
			 Average for 1990–91 46,050 11,920 26 9,170 20 
			 March 1992 62,090 12,220 20 10,310 17 
			 Average for 1991–92 59,620 12,810 21 10,280 17 
			 March 1993 61,380 7,570 12 10,890 18 
			 Average for 1992–93 63,630 8,840 14 10,970 17 
			 March 1994 52,340 4,920 9 10,460 20 
			 Average for 1993–94 55,090 5,620 10 10,500 19 
			 March 1995 46,350 4,480 10 10,380 22 
			 Average for 1994–95 47,190 4,540 10 10,190 22 
			 March 1996 43,240 4,750 11 10,090 23 
			 Average for 1995–96 45,000 4,920 11 10,210 23 
			 March 1997 41,250 4,100 10 9,680 23 
			 Average for 1996–97 42,640 4,280 10 9,960 23 
			 March 1998 47,520 4,820 10 9,730 20 
			 Average for 1997–98 45,350 4,620 10 9,340 21 
			 March 1999 56,580 6,570 12 9,840 17 
			 Average for 1998–99 53,070 6,270 12 9,730 18 
			 March 2000 65,170 8,680 13 10,300 16 
			 Average for 1999–2000 61,810 8,160 13 10,030 16 
			 March 2001 75,200 10,860 14 10,610 14 
			 Average for 2000–01 71,920 9,770 14 10,550 15 
			 March 2002 80,440 11,840 15 9,610 12 
			 Average for 2001–02 78,190 11,840 15 10,050 13 
			 March 2003 89,400 12,070 14 10,010 11 
			 Average for 2002–03 85,160 12,560 15 9,790 11 
			 March 2004 (22)97,290 7,170 7 10,850 11 
			 Average for 2003–04 (22)94,490 9,280 10 10,540 11 
		
	
	
		
			  Private sector accommodation(23) Other types (including LA/ RSL's own stock) 
			  Number Percentage of total Number Percentage of total 
		
		
			 March 1991 5— (24)— 27,530 55 
			 Average for 1990–91 (24)— (24)— 24,960 54 
			 March 1992 25,190 41 14,370 23 
			 Average for 1991–92 22,900 38 13,640 23 
			 March 1993 26,270 44 16,200 26 
			 Average for 1992–93 27,810 44 16,010 25 
			 March 1994 20,860 40 16,100 31 
			 Average for 1993–94 23,270 42 15,710 29 
			 March 1995 14,130 30 17,360 37 
			 Average for 1994–95 16,380 35 16,080 34 
			 March 1996 11,410 26 16,990 39 
			 Average for 1995–96 12,000 27 17,880 40 
			 March 1997 14,040 34 13,430 33 
			 Average for 1996–97 11,920 28 16,490 39 
			 March 1998 14,820 31 18,150 38 
			 Average for 1997–98 14,370 32 17,030 38 
			 March 1999 19,270 34 20,900 37 
			 Average for 1998–99 17,610 33 19,470 37 
			 March 2000 20,060 31 26,130 40 
			 Average for 1999–2000 19,000 31 24,620 40 
			 March 2001 25,610 34 28,120 37 
			 Average for 2000–01 24,280 34 27,330 38 
			 March 2002 28,370 35 30,620 38 
			 Average for 2001–02 26,410 34 29,900 38 
			 March 2003 37,130 42 30,210 34 
			 Average for 2002–03 33,250 39 29,580 35 
			 March 2004 50,080 51 29,190 30 
			 Average for 2003–04 45,440 48 29,230 31 
		
	
	(20) Households in accommodation either pending a decision on their homelessness application or awaiting re-allocation of a settled home following acceptance. Excludes those households designated as "homeless at home" that have remained in their existing accommodation and have the same rights to suitable alternative accommodation as those in accommodation arranged by authorities.
	(21) From 2002 Q1 onwards, some self-contained accommodation in annex-style units previously recorded under B and B now more appropriately attributed to private sector accommodation.
	(22) Provisional.
	(23) Private sector properties leased, or under licence, to social landlords, or rented directly from a private landlord.
	(24) Included in "other".
	Note:
	Totals may not equal the sum of components because of rounding.
	Source:
	ODPM P1E homelessness returns
	The latest quarterly Statistical Release on statutory homelessness, published by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister on 13 December, presents more detailed analyses from 1997 up to the end of the third quarter of 2004. Key summary, including numbers of households in various forms of temporary accommodation, at local authority level is contained in an associated supplementary table. These have been made available in the Library of the House, and via the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's website.

Housing

Howard Stoate: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list major housing developments of 50 units or more in the Thames Gateway region which have received planning permission in each of the last five years indicating (a) the total number of planned units on each site, (b) the number of (i) social and (ii) affordable units agreed upon in the section 106 agreement between the developer and local authority for each site and (c) the total number of (A) social and (B) affordable units on each site where all phases of development have been completed.

Keith Hill: The information requested is not held centrally by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Local Government Finance

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the average percentage change in band D council tax rates in England has been since 1997.

Nick Raynsford: The average Band D council tax bill increased by 69.6 per cent. between 1997–98 and 2004–05.

Planning Applications (Flood Risk)

Greg Knight: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what advice he has issued to planning authorities in respect of allowing properties to be built on land at risk from flooding; what plans he has to revise such guidance; and if he will make a statement.

Keith Hill: Policy guidance for England is contained in Planning Policy Guidance Note 25, Development and Flood Risk, published in July 2001. Responses to consultation in late summer 2004 on whether to revise PPG25 are being considered and the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister will announce conclusions shortly.

Premises serving Alcohol

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what changes to national planning (a) guidance and (b) regulations relating to premises serving alcohol have been made since 1997.

Keith Hill: The amendments to the Use Classes Order, announced in November 2003, are the only changes to national planning (a) guidance and (b) regulations relating to alcohol-serving premises.
	These regulations will come into force this year and amended guidance, in the form of a Circular, will be published at the same time.

Roadside Advertising

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister 
	(1)  if he will make a statement on the (a) hazards of and (b) trends in incidence of commercial advertising alongside motorways and major roads;
	(2)  what representations he has received regarding the (a) effects of and (b) level of commercial advertising alongside motorways and major roads;
	(3)  if he will take action to curb the amount of commercial advertising alongside motorways and major roads.

Keith Hill: Local planning authorities have powers to control advertisements alongside motorways and major roads. They have to consider amenity and public safety when allowing an advertisement to be displayed.
	During the past six months, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has received 20 representations from Members of Parliament and 21 from members of the public about the road safety aspects and the increase in commercial advertisements alongside motorways and major roads.
	The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister intends to remind local planning authorities of their powers to remove advertisements displayed in contravention of the Regulations when new Regulations are made later this year.

Social Housing

Howard Stoate: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what (a) social and (b) affordable housing targets have been set for major housing development sites of each local authority in the Thames Gateway region.

Keith Hill: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister does not set annual targets centrally for local authorities on either affordable or social housing.
	For the Thames Gateway, as elsewhere, planning policies for affordable housing (which includes social housing) are currently set out in Planning Policy Guidance Note 3 : "Housing" and in Circular 6/98, "Planning for Affordable Housing". They advise that where local planning authorities are able to demonstrate a lack of affordable housing to meet local needs, based on up-to-date surveys and other data of local need, they should indicate in their local plan how many affordable homes need to be provided throughout the plan area, and set indicative targets for specific suitable sites (expressed either as numbers of homes or a percentage of the homes on the site).
	In London the Mayor is responsible for preparing the spatial development strategy (SDS), also known as the London Plan. In the remaining eight English regions, regional planning bodies (RPBs) are responsible for developing regional spatial strategies (RSSs). RSSs and the SDS should be developed in line with national planning policy. The principal role of the RSS/SDS is to serve as a strategic planning framework for the region, with which local development frameworks produced by local planning authorities must be in conformity. This may include indicative targets for the delivery of affordable housing.
	The Thames Gateway is covered by the Mayor of London, and the two RPBs, the east of England regional assembly and south east England regional assembly. In August 2004, these three bodies published an interregional planning statement, to act as a co-ordinated planning strategy for the Thames Gateway sub-region. While it is a non- statutory document, it provides the regional partners with an agreed strategy and should inform the development of regional plans.
	The London Plan, published in February 2004, set an affordability target of 50 per cent. for new developments. Regional spatial strategies for the south east of England and the east of England regions are currently under review. At present neither existing RSS sets a target for affordable housing. An anticipated target of 30 per cent. was put forward in the interregional planning statement. The draft RSS revision for the east of England contains a policy providing an affordability target of 30 per cent.

Special Advisers

Andrew Tyrie: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether the contracts signed by his special advisers differ from the Model Contract for Special Advisers.

Yvette Cooper: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 17 January 2005, Official Report, column 753W.

West Midlands Fire Service

John Taylor: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the cost of pension provision to the West Midlands Fire Service was in each of the last 10 years; and what percentage of the total budget of the authority this represented in each year.

Phil Hope: The information requested is not held centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister does hold figures for pensions expenditure and total net current expenditure of the West Midlands Fire and Rescue Authority for the financial years 2001–02, 2002–03 and 2003–04. The figures, also expressed as a percentage, are tabled as follows:
	
		
			  Pension's expenditure  (actual £000) Net current expenditure (£000) Pension's expenditure as a percentage of total net current expenditure 
		
		
			 2001–02 20,279 87,781 23.1 
			 2002–03 21,601 90,682 23.8 
			 2003–04 21,670 97,847 22.1 
		
	
	The data provided are as reported by the West Midlands Fire and Rescue Authority and are taken from outturn figures for 2001–02 and 2002–03 and budget estimates for 2003–04.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Darfur

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of conditions at Ardamata Camp outside Geneina, Darfur.

Hilary Benn: holding answer 19 January 2005
	The situation in Ardamata Camp, as in much of West Darfur is stabilising. The latest United Nations Humanitarian Needs Profile (HNP) shows the following percentage of residents of Ardamata Camp for the month of December, compared with those published in November's profile, which had access to:
	
		HNP
		
			  Percentage 
		
		
			 December 2004  
			 Food 100 
			 Shelter 86 
			 Clean water 81 
			 Sanitation 71 
			 PHCF 100 
			 Nutrition 97 
			   
			 November 2004  
			 Food 100 
			 Shelter 86 
			 Clean water 81 
			 Sanitation 71 
			 PHCF 100 
			 Nutrition 64 
		
	
	With regard to security, the UN Humanitarian Needs Profile indicates that there have been only isolated incidents being reported.

Darfur

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions he has had with non-governmental organisations to ensure that efforts to provide aid to Darfur are not reduced consequent on work done to provide aid to victims of the tsunami in Asia.

Hilary Benn: Since September 2003, the UK has allocated £62.5 million to providing humanitarian relief to Darfur. This contribution, and our total pledge to Sudan for the next financial year of £100 million, underlines the UK's continuing strong commitment to Sudan. Sudan remains a very high priority for us, and our support will not be affected by our response to the tsunami affected countries.
	A significant proportion of the £100 million for next year—£20 million—has been allocated to NGOs, which remain committed to both rebuilding of Sudan and supporting the humanitarian operations in Darfur. DFID holds regular meetings with NGOs working in Darfur on both a bilateral level and collectively. We have had no indication that they are looking to decrease their operations.

HIV/AIDS

Stephen Byers: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what his estimate is of the number of (a) adults and (b) children who died in each of the last 10 years in developing countries from (i) HIV/AIDS, (ii) malaria and (iii) tuberculosis.

Hilary Benn: holding answer 18 January 2005
	Along with the rest of the international community, DFID relies on HIV and AIDS data from the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). Separate figures for deaths in adults and children under 15 years for developing countries are not available.
	UNAIDS estimates in 2003, out of a global total of 2.9 million AIDS deaths, 2.4 million were adults and 490,000 were children. In 2004, out of a global total of 3.1 million AIDS deaths, 2.6 million were adults and 510,000 were children. A country breakdown is available on the UNAIDS web site, (www.unaids.org).
	Malaria kills over one million people worldwide each year, 98 per cent. (982, 095) are children under 14. Tuberculosis kills approximately 2 million people each year, 5 per cent. (103734) are children under 14. TB is the leading cause of death among people who are HIV positive 1 .
	1 Source: The Lancet Volume 364 October—November 2004

Tsunami

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what contingency plans are in place to overcome logistical difficulties in getting aid to tsunami victims in the countries affected.

Hilary Benn: Supporting the logistical effort has been a priority for DFID since the earthquake and tsunami hit. DFID has provided equipment to help establish the UN Field Office in Bandeh Aceh and the Humanitarian Information Centre. DFID has provided an expert to work in the centre. DFID is also providing three air operators to help co-ordinate the movement of relief items by air, along with 25 landrovers and five helicopters put at the disposal of the United Nations.
	UK forces also played an important role in this. DFID is providing significant airlift capacity, including one RAF c-17 plane. Two navy ships—Chatham and Diligence—provided assistance off Sri Lanka. Their Lynx helicopters undertook assessments and provided transport capacity.
	In addition to the material support mentioned, DFID has provided significant financial support to logistics. This represents part of DFID's £2 million commitment in support of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, as well as the £1.5 million committed to the International Committee of the Red Cross, £3.5 million to the World Food Programme, £1 million to the International Organisation for Migration, £0.5 million to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and £0.4 million to the UN's Security Co-ordinator.

Tsunami

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps he is taking to ensure that orphaned survivors of the tsunami are protected from the activities of paedophile rings; and whether it is his policy to ensure that partner aid agencies take action to minimise such risks.

Hilary Benn: DFID is monitoring the situation closely and will work with partner agencies and affected governments to ensure that everything possible is being done to prevent such horrible abuses. Our partners conform to principled standards of humanitarian action in undertaking their work. At present there has only been a small number of child abduction cases reported. DFID is following this up through discussions with the United Nations Children Fund. DFID has committed £2.25 million to support this agency's work to protect children in Sri Lanka and Indonesia.

Water and Sanitation Projects

Alan Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much EU overseas development assistance has been (a) committed and (b) spent on water and sanitation projects in each year since 2000, broken down by country.

Hilary Benn: Data from the Development Assistance Committee of the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) show European Commission (EC) average commitment on water supply and sanitation in 2001–02 was US$150 million. Total overseas development assistance to water supply and sanitation from the EC in 2001 was allocated as follows: Africa 79 per cent., Latin America and Caribbean 15 per cent., Oceania 6 per cent. (this is based on a five-year moving average).
	The European Union (including 25 member state plus the European Commission) is the largest donor overall and the largest donor in the water sector in Africa, committing some €1.4 billion each year. The priority of water has been increased in African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries, with the establishment of the EU-ACP Water Facility (€250 million available this year).
	Obtaining comparable figures is difficult because different donors use different criteria to calculate support to the water sector or track support within multi sector projects. Figures may also include or exclude related issues such as water resources management or concessional loans. The UK is working with the EU Water Initiative Finance Working Group to improve the tracking of aid flows in the water sector.

Water and Sanitation Projects

Alan Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what plans his Department has to increase the proportion of EU aid spent on water and sanitation projects.

Hilary Benn: EU funds for aid are allocated by the Commission on the basis of priorities set out by developing countries in Country Strategy Papers. The Department for International Development (DFID) is represented on all committees at which these papers are discussed and agreed and works with others to ensure aid is spent as effectively as possible to help achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), including those on access to water and sanitation.
	Within African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries, DFID is represented on the board of the European Development Fund (EOF) and has been involved in establishing the ACP-EU Water Facility. The Water Facility makes provision for €250 million this year, from the unspent funds of the EDF, for catalytic projects in the sector that are able to leverage greater finance flows and accelerate progress toward the MDGs.
	DFID are also supporting the EU Water Initiative. The EU Water Initiative, through an Africa Component are working with the African Ministerial Council on Water and other stakeholders in Africa on increasing the priority being given to water and sanitation in poverty reduction or national development strategies, on improving strategic planning in the sector and on improving donor coordination. This will ensure that existing money is better spent and that a clearer demand for work in the sector is articulated to which donors (including the EU) may respond with increased aid commitments under the 2002 Monterrey Consensus principles of demand led assistance.

DEFENCE

British Nuclear Tests Veterans Association

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what response has been provided to solicitors representing the British Nuclear Tests Veterans Association.

Colin Pickthall: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what response he has made to the lawyers acting on behalf of British Nuclear Tests Veterans who have submitted a letter before action.

Ivor Caplin: A letter of acknowledgement has been sent in response to the Letter of Claim from the solicitors representing members of the British Nuclear Tests Veterans Association.

Brunei

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to reduce the size of the Gurkha garrison in Brunei as part of the defence review.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 17 January 2005
	None.

Colombian Army

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent UK military aid has been given to (a) the 3rd Division of the Colombian Army and (b) the brigades and battalions that comprise the 3rd division of the Colombian Army; and which programmes this aid is funding.

Adam Ingram: We do not provide generic military assistance to Colombian Army divisions, brigades or battalions as formations, including the 3rd Division. UK military assistance provided to the Colombian Army is focused on specialist Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) units and British military education to selected individuals, such as The Royal College of Defence Studies, which introduces British Defence concepts, including human rights and democratically accountable Armed Forces.

Departmental Costs

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the cost of (a) new builds, (b) demolition rebuilds and (c) PFI projects in his Department for each of the last two years.

Ivor Caplin: The information is not held in the form requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Infantry

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which future English Infantry Battalions under the future army structure are expected to be under establishment.

Adam Ingram: The Future Army Structure will require a shift in personnel from the current mix of light and heavy forces to a more balanced structure of light, medium and heavy forces. Manpower released from the reductions in infantry battalions will be used to strengthen the remaining infantry units, and expand specialist areas such as engineers, logisticians, signallers and intelligence. The precise re-distribution of this manpower is currently being considered.

Infantry

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment his Department has made of the comparative costs of recruitment and training for infantry recruits in each infantry regiment.

Ivor Caplin: Whilst costing data cannot be differentiated by capbadge, the comparative cost of recruitment and training for the three career employment groups in the infantry, guards, line and para, for the financial year 2003–04 at the Infantry Training Centre Catterick are listed in the following table:
	
		
			  Career employment group  Length of course (weeks) Cost per trainee for financial year 2003–04 (£) 
		
		
			 Line 24 22,000 
			 Guards 26 26,000 
			 Para 28 37,000 
		
	
	These costs are calculated on an accruals basis and include non cash items such as depreciation and cost of capital.

Iraq

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many serving British military personnel or past serving personnel in Iraq have been charged with offences against Iraqi civilians since the recent military conflict began; if he will list each of the offences with which military personnel have been charged; how many personnel (a) have so far been found guilty and (b) are awaiting trial for such offences; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: Since the start of operations in Iraq in March 2003 six soldiers have been charged with offences against Iraqi civilians. These cases are ongoing and for legal reasons no further information can be given at this time.

Iraq

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what facilities exist for relatives or friends to visit Iraqis held in detention or in prison by British military forces in Iraq; and what procedures have to be followed for such visits to take place.

Adam Ingram: Within 24 hours of an internee arriving at the Divisional Temporary Detention Facility (DTDF) in Basrah, the only detention centre administered by the United Kingdom, the International Committee of the Red Cross are informed. It is then their role to inform the internee's family.
	Comprehensive procedures are in place for family members to visit internees at the DTDF; in summary, internees can be visited once they have been at the DTDF for 14 days, and four adults and four children can visit an internee at any one time for up to 45 minutes. There is no limit placed on how many times an internee is visited, although the DTDF reserves the right to cancel visits for reasons of security. There is a Visitors' Reception Area and a meeting room.

Iraq

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the total cost of military action in Iraq was in (a) 2003–04 and (b) 2004–05 to date.

Adam Ingram: The costs of operations are calculated on a net additional basis. Audited figures for operations in Iraq are published each year in the Ministry of Defence's Annual Report and Accounts. Costs for 2002–03 and 2003–04 were:
	
		
			  £ million 
		
		
			 Operations in Iraq 1,051 
			 Expenditure on capital equipment 260 
			 Total 1,311 
		
	
	Estimated costs for 2004–05 will be included in Spring Supplementary Estimates to be published shortly. Final figures will be published in the MOD's Annual Report and Accounts for 2004–05 following necessary stocktake activity and audit by the National Audit Office.

Meteorological Office

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the role is of the Meteorological Office in connection with issuing (a) flood warnings and (b) severe weather warnings; what resources are available to it; and what the level of accuracy of these forecasts was in 2004.

Ivor Caplin: The Met Office does not itself issue flood warnings, but provides information and services to the Environment Agency in support of their responsibility to issue flood warnings in England and Wales. It provides similar support to the Scottish Environment Protection Agency. A more restricted severe weather service has been commissioned by and is therefore provided to the Northern Ireland Executive.
	As the National Met Service for the United Kingdom, the Met Office has a responsibility for warning the citizens of the UK of severe weather events. Severe weather warnings are issued when it is judged there is a possible danger to life and property, or when disruption to transport is possible. Two types of warnings are issued. Flash warnings are typically issued three to six hours ahead of a predicted event and early warnings are issued up to five days ahead of a forecast event. These warnings are made available to the public via a range of media (including national television and radio) and to other Government bodies and agencies who have a responsibility for the protection of life, property and infrastructure. During 2004 a total of 406 severe weather warnings were issued. The Met Office records for 2004 indicate that some 87 per cent. of severe weather events occurring in the UK were preceded by a severe weather warning.
	The funding for the National Severe Weather Service is provided by the Cabinet Office and devolved administrations. In the current financial year, the funding available to the Met Office for this service is £2.02 million.

Military Operating Costs

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the annual operating costs in near cash terms of (a) HMS Grafton, (b) HMS Marlborough and (c) HMS Norfolk were in financial years 2002–03 and 2003–04.

Adam Ingram: The Ministry of Defence does not manage costs on the basis of individual ships or types of ships. There is therefore no distinct, identifiable budget for Type 23 frigates. However we estimate the near cash costs in 2003–04 for these frigates to be:
	
		
			  £ Million 
		
		
			 Grafton 8.1 
			 Norfolk 8.4 
			 Marlborough 9.0 
		
	
	It is not possible to provide figures for 2002–03 broken down by individual ship, because costing information was not recorded in a manner that would allow their allocation to individual platforms with a reasonable degree of accuracy. However, in a written answer on 9 September 2003, Official Report, column 346W to the hon. Member for Portsmouth, South (Mr. Hancock) I estimated that the average running cost for a Type 23 frigate was £10.3 million.

MOD Efficiency Programme

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the planned cashable savings attributable to his Department's efficiency programme are for the (a) Army Base Repair Organisation, (b) Defence Aviation Repair Agency, (c) Defence Science and Technology Laboratories, (d) Meteorological Office and (e) UK Hydrographic Office for financial years (i) 2006–07 and (ii) 2007–08.

Ivor Caplin: holding answer 18 January 2005
	The Ministry of Defence Efficiency Programme does not include cashable savings from these agencies.

Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty

Alex Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his priorities are for the nuclear non-proliferation treaty review conference in May 2005; and whether the UK will request that replacement of Trident be placed on the agenda.

Geoff Hoon: The United Kingdom's goals for the review conference are to make the case for stronger and more effective counter-proliferation measures and to emphasise the importance of compliance with the treaty. We will do this in the context of emphasising the UK's good record on nuclear disarmament, and we will produce a final report of the studies that we have conducted on the verification of nuclear disarmament. The nuclear non-proliferation treaty defines the purpose of the review conference as being "to review the operation of this treaty with a view to assuring that the purposes of the preamble and the provisions of the treaty are being realised." The agenda for the 2005 nuclear non-proliferation treaty review conference is yet to be agreed by state parties to the NPT.

Parliamentary Questions

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence to how many written questions tabled in the last parliamentary session his Department had been unable to provide a substantive answer before the end of the session.

Ivor Caplin: Our records show that we were unable to provide a substantive answer to 152 of the 4,456 written questions tabled to the Ministry of Defence.

Runway De-icing Chemicals

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what problems have been experienced with the delivery of runway de-icing chemicals for (a) RAF and (b) other service airfields.

Adam Ingram: In February 2004 the supplier of runway de-icing chemicals to the Ministry of Defence was unable to meet the required delivery date for a demand from a RAF airfield. The demand was satisfied by an alternative supplier. No other problems with the delivery of runway de-icing chemicals to RAF or other service airfields have been reported.

Territorial Army

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the minimum timescale for operations is that Territorial Army establishments will be able to accommodate personnel who may not be able to deploy in support of large scale operations taking up to six months.

Ivor Caplin: Arrangements to ensure that Territorial Army (TA) establishments are organised to accommodate those personnel who may not be able to deploy in support of large scale operations will not be tied to a time scale. It is an organisational framework to ensure that TA units have sufficient manpower to meet the tasks for which they are designed. It recognises that, at any time, there are some volunteers who are unable to deploy owing to personal circumstances and others who are still under training and not yet ready for operations. TA units will therefore be established so that they are able to recruit and train additional manpower at their peacetime location. The final arrangements will be the subject of further announcements in due course

Tsunami (Military Assistance)

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the statement by the Prime Minister of 10 January 2005, Official Report, columns 22–31, on the Asian tsunami, on what date the five Hercules aeroplanes were deployed in the disaster area.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 17 January 2005
	One C130 deployed on 1 January to centralise aid within Europe and one C130 deployed to Sri Lanka on 2 January. To date the other three aircraft have not been called forward by DfID; instead C17 and TriStar aircraft have been tasked as these aircraft provided a more cost effective and efficient means of moving the freight.

Tsunami (Military Assistance)

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has had with the Wiltshire Mercy Appeal based at the former RAF Wroughton about using the Hercules aircraft at RAF Lyneham to deliver the aid which they have collected.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 17 January 2005
	None. DFID is leading the response by Her Majesty's Government to the tsunami in the Indian Ocean. DFID has agreed to transport aid procured by the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) agencies in response to specific requirements on the ground. The RAF aircraft made available to the relief effort are tasked in line with DFID direction.

Tsunami (Military Assistance)

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether his Department will seek to recover costs from (a) the Department for International Development and (b) funds committed by the UK Government to the relief effort for the use of the UK military staff and equipment in the support and relief effort following the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: The Ministry of Defence is providing assistance to DfID in the international relief effort in the Indian Ocean. Under the usual arrangements, MOD will be recovering from DfID only the marginal cost of this involvement.

Tsunami (Military Assistance)

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on what occasions since 1997 his Department has recovered costs for the use of UK military staff and equipment used in (a) emergency relief efforts and (b) support of international aid projects; how much money was recovered from (i) the Department for International Development and (ii) other overseas aid budgets in each year; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: This information is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

World War Two Commemoration (Wales)

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans have been made for the commemoration in Wales of the 60th anniversary of the end of World War Two.

Ivor Caplin: On behalf of the Government, the Ministry of Defence is sponsoring a series of events to mark the 60th anniversary of the end of the Second World War on 10 July with the focus in London. In addition there will be commemorations at the Cenotaph on 8 May and 21 August to mark VE Day and VJ Day respectively. It is hoped that other towns and cities in the United Kingdom will also arrange their own commemorations. The Ministry of Defence is not organising any commemorative events of this sort in Wales, but I understand that the National Assembly for Wales is planning an event in Cardiff on 10 July. Local events are being planned by veterans' organisations, including the Soldiers', Sailors' and Airmen's Families Association—Forces Help and The Royal British Legion, in Monmouth and Llandudno respectively.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Botox

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent research he has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on the use of animals to test (i) Botox and (ii) Dysport for cosmetic purposes; and if he will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: The Home Office has not commissioned or evaluated research for the purposes stated.
	Botox and Dysport are trade names for products containing botulinum toxin. The safety and efficacy of this substance have to be tested on animals, in connection with its range of clinical uses as a prescription only medicine.
	This regulatory animal testing in the UK is licensed under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. A review of the relevant project licence authorities has confirmed that the testing is solely for pharmaceutical and therapeutic purposes. The Home Office does not license animal testing of botulinum toxin for cosmetic use.

Chinese Nationals

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his policy is on where responsibility should lie for Chinese nationals in the UK who have not been granted asylum in the UK and who are not accepted back by the Chinese authorities.

Des Browne: Chinese nationals whose applications for asylum have been unsuccessful are expected to leave the UK, and their removal may be enforced.
	The Chinese authorities will accept the return of Chinese nationals whose nationality and identity has been verified. In cases where travel documents have been lost or destroyed, an Emergency Travel Document must be obtained from the Chinese Embassy. We are working closely with the Chinese Government to improve the effectiveness of the redocumentation process.
	As part of its remit, the National Asylum Support Service (MASS) provides support to those eligible individuals who have not been granted asylum in the UK and who are co-operating with arrangements for their return.

Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will reply to the letter dated 18 November 2004 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr. Shaban Kurtula.

Charles Clarke: I wrote to my right hon. Friend on 14 January.

Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority

Richard Ottaway: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his answer of 6 December 2004, Official Report, column 389W, on the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority, what assessment he has made of whether staff numbers are adequate to deal with the workflow; and whether there are delays in processing the cases before the authority.

Paul Goggins: As part of the wider efficiency savings across Government, announced earlier this year, the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) released many of its temporary agency staff. The authority is also currently carrying a number of vacancies for permanent staff, but is looking to fill these as soon as possible.
	CICA expects to receive about 70,000 new applications in 2004–05, and to resolve approaching the same number, though many of the cases so resolved would have been lodged in previous years.
	The mean average time from receipt of an application to the issue of the (first) decision by CICA has risen by two days this year over the mean average time of 305 days taken in 2003–04. Claims which go to formal review and appeal inevitably take longer to finalise, the time taken depending on the complexity of the case and the nature of any issues in dispute.
	CICA makes every effort to give a high quality service to claimants. For example, the authority is currently planning an upgrade to its IT systems to improve business efficiency.

Criminal Justice Act

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether detailed costings have been made of the changes to sentencing which will occur as a consequence of the Criminal Justice Act 2003; when the changes will be introduced; and whether they will be fully funded by central Government.

Paul Goggins: The majority of costs associated with the sentencing provisions of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 with financial implications (i.e. community orders, custody plus, suspended sentences, increased magistrates sentencing powers, intermittent custody, dangerous offenders, release on licence, recall after release and drug treatment and rehabilitation requirements) will fall on the Prison Service, Probation Service, Youth Justice Board, Department for Constitutional Affairs and the Judicial Studies Board.
	The provisions will be implemented as part of a strategy which will aim to ensure that custody is reserved for dangerous sexual and violent offenders and seriously persistent repeat offenders, and that the benefits of community supervision are made available for more offenders.
	Estimates of the costs of the sentencing provisions were set out in the explanatory notes which accompanied the Bill. Detailed work on costings continues but will be affected by how sentences are used in practice and the actual date of commencement of the provisions.
	The following sentencing provisions contained in the Act have already been brought into force:
	
		Criminal Justice Act 2003
		
			  Date 
		
		
			 Effect of the life sentence 18 December 2003 
			 Offenders transferred to mental hospital 20 January 2004 
			 Minimum sentence for firearms offences 22 January 2004 
			 Pilots of intermittent custody 26 January 2004 
			 Increase in penalty for fraudulently obtaining a driving licence 29 January 2004 
			 Increase in penalties for drug offences 29 January 2004 
			 Sentencing Guidelines Council 27 February 2004 
			 Disqualification from working with children 1 May 2004 
			 Release of foreign national prisoners 14 June 2004 
			 Increase in penalties for driving offences 27 February 2004 
			 Pilot of drug treatment and testing in action plan and supervision orders 1 December 2004 
		
	
	We expect the provisions relating to community orders, suspended sentences, dangerous offenders, release on licence and recall after release to be commenced next Spring. No final decision has yet been taken on the timing of commencement of the remaining sentencing provisions.
	The cost of commencing the Criminal Justice Act 2003 will be met within the CJS Departments' spending review settlements.

Deportation

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average period of detention in the prison estate is for foreign nationals who, having completed their sentence, are awaiting deportation.

Des Browne: Information on the number of people who were detained in prison establishments awaiting deportation after completing their sentence is not available.
	Work is on-going to improve the quality of the data held on those people detained under Immigration Act powers in prison establishments.

Detention without Trial

Kevin McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will publish his response to the European Committee on the Prevention of Torture report and recommendations following inspection of conditions experienced by prisoners detained without trial at Belmarsh and Woodhill.

David Lammy: I have been asked to reply
	:
	The Government's response to the report by the Committee is in preparation. We will submit it in confidence to the Committee as soon as possible, and will consider the question of publication at that time.

Drugs

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many drug tests were carried out in custody suites in 2004; and how many of these showed positive for (a) buprenorphine, (b) heroin, (c) methadone, (d) amphetamines, (e) cocaine and (f) crack cocaine.

Caroline Flint: The table gives a breakdown of all drug tests carried out in custody suites in 2004 under the provisions of the Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000.
	
		
			  2004 drug test statistics 
		
		
			 Tests attempted 65,796 
			 Successful tests (a result obtained) 64,931 
			 Number positive for Heroin only 9,459 
			 Number positive for Cocaine (including Crack  Cocaine) only 8,748 
			 Number positive for both Heroin and Cocaine  (including Crack Cocaine) 12,445 
			 Total positive tests 30,652 
			   
			 Percentage positive tests 47 
		
	
	Drug testing is carried out to identify use of Heroin and Cocaine, including Crack Cocaine, as research suggests that these are the drugs most likely to be linked to committing acquisitive crime. No tests are carried out to identify the use of buprenorphine, methadone or amphetamines.

Drugs

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many convictions have been secured in drug-related crime cases in (a) South Tyneside, (b) Tyne and Wear and (c) England and Wales in each year since 1997.

Caroline Flint: The available information is contained in the following table and gives the number of defendants found guilty at all courts for drug offences, 1997 to 2003.
	
		Number of defendants found guilty at all courts for drug offences(25), 1997 to 2003
		
			  1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 
		
		
			 England and Wales 40,666 48,822 48,711 44,622 45,622 49,036 51,165 
			 Tyne and Wear(26) 714 1,223 1,424 1,439 1,790 1,867 2,015 
			 Of which:
			 South Tyneside PSA(27) 68 132 178 129 204 264 251 
		
	
	(25) These data are on the principal offence basis.
	(26) Includes those found guilty at the Crown Court where the committing court was in the Tyne and Wear area.
	(27) Includes those found guilty at the Crown Court where the committing court was South Tyneside PSA.

Drugs

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many drug dealers were convicted of dealing outside schools in each of the last 10 years.

Caroline Flint: It is not possible from the information held on the Home Office Court Proceedings database to identify whether a person proceeded against for drug dealing was outside a school, as the circumstances of the offence are not collected centrally.

Drugs

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) bodies and (b) individuals have made representations to his Department on drug use in schools in each of the last 10 years.

Caroline Flint: The Home Office engages actively with a wide range of stakeholders in the Drug Strategy. Details of individual representations are not held centrally and to provide details would incur disproportionate cost.

Identity Cards

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether a risk register has been prepared in respect of the identity cards scheme.

Des Browne: Yes.

Immigration

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the immigration status of Albanian nationals (a) Taulant Merdany and (b) Elidon Bregu; when and under what immigration status each arrived in the United Kingdom; what interviews have taken place with them or their legal representatives during the time they have been in this country; what immigration records are held by his Department on each; and whether his Department will be informed by the prison authorities when they are released from prison.

Des Browne: It is not departmental policy to release information regarding an individual's immigration status.
	Procedures are in place to ensure the Prison Service informs the Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND) about foreign nationals who are serving custodial sentences in UK prisons. Prison Service Order 4630, issued on 18 September 2004, requires individual prisons to notify the IND Criminal Casework Team of non-EU nationals held on remand and all convicted prisoners who are serving a sentence.

Initiatives (Funding)

Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what budget was allocated to the (a) Police Information Technology Organisation, (b) witness care units, (c) Youth Justice Board, (d) youth inclusion and support panels and (e) the youth offending teams in each of the last two years; and how many staff each organisation employed in each year.

Fiona Mactaggart: The information is as follows:
	(a) The Police Information Technology Organisation's budget (including resource and capital) for the financial year 2003–04 was £220.2 million, rising to £284.4 million in 2004–5. PITO employed 643 staff and 695 staff respectively.
	(b) In the financial year 2003–04, Witness Care Units were set up in five pilot sites only. In 2004–05, funding was awarded to set up Witness Care Units in each of the 42 Criminal Justice System areas. The figures for the budget and staff employed (full-time equivalent) are listed in the following table:
	
		
			  Budget (£ million) Staff 
		
		
			 2003–04 0.338 145.7 
			 2004–05 5.592 934.1 
		
	
	(c) The Youth Justice Board's (YJB) budget in the financial year 2003–04 was £373 million reducing to £369 million in 2004–05.
	The YJB employed 180 staff in each year.
	(d) We are advised that responsibility for allocating budgets to the 77 youth inclusion and support panels falls within the remit of the Department for Education and Skills.
	(e) The total budget for all of the Youth Offending Teams (YOT) was 217 million in the financial year 2003–04, rising to £220 million in 2004–05. These figures include a contribution of £48 million per annum from the Youth Justice Board. The YOTs employ 10,000 staff.

Knife Crime

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his Department's strategy is to tackle knife crime.

Caroline Flint: holding answer 20 December 2004
	The Government are determined to tackle knife related violence. As we announced on 15 December, the Home Office is considering a package of measures working with the Department for Education and Skills and the Association of Chief Police Officers. We are focusing on analysis of information, tackling the knife culture, especially among young people, community involvement and strengthening legislation. The measures under consideration include: raising the minimum age for purchasing a knife to 18; adding new categories of knife now being used in crime to the list of banned offensive weapons; providing a power to require specified licensed premises to search for an offensive weapon on entry; giving head teachers a new power to search pupils for knives; pulling together best practice from initiatives and schemes focusing on knife crime and developing local crime reduction and enforcement strategies on dealing with the carrying of knives.

Ministerial Visits

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which counties were visited by his officials and Ministers in relation to substance misuse in 2004.

Caroline Flint: Ministers and officials regularly visit counties in pursuance of delivery of the Government's Drug Strategy. To provide details of the visits undertaken in 2004 would incur disproportionate costs.

National Identity Register

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the likely size of the national identity register at the end of financial year (a) 2012–13 and (b) 2013–14.

Des Browne: The current best estimate of the number of enrolments recorded in the National Identity Register by the end of the financial year: (a) 2012–13 is 31,282,000, and (b) 2013–14 is 39,999,000.

Prison Service Alcohol Strategy

Ross Cranston: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the funding needs for the implementation of the Prison Service Alcohol Strategy; and what the timetable will be for its implementation.

Paul Goggins: The strategy will be implemented within existing funding settlements. It will be for individual prison establishments to implement the measures as their priorities allow. No central timetable has been set.

Royal Mail

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many fixed penalty notices have been issued under section 72 of the Highways Act 1835 to Royal Mail employees for cycling illegally on footpaths in each year since 1997.

Caroline Flint: Data on the number of fixed penalties issued to pedal cyclists riding on a footpath contrary to section 72 of the Highways Act 1835 are not collected centrally.

Stafford Prison Escape

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will commission an independent investigation into the escape of three prisoners from Stafford Prison on 8 December; and if he will publish the results.

Paul Goggins: No. An independent investigation is not considered necessary or appropriate for most escapes. The normal practice is for an escape to be investigated by a senior manager of the Prison Service from a prison or unit other than that from where the escape occurred. In this case an investigation has been commissioned by the Area Manager of West Midlands and is being led by the Head of Security Group in Prison Service headquarters. The reports of internal investigations are not published.

UN Convention on Migrant Workers

Michael Wills: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the compatibility of the Government's immigration policies with the UN Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and their Families.

Des Browne: The UN Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families is not compatible with the Government's immigration policies. For example, most overseas nationals coming to the UK to take employment require a work permit. The UK employer applies for a work permit to enable them to fill a specific vacancy in the UK, following which the worker applies for leave to enter or remain in the UK. If the migrant worker leaves this employment they are expected to leave the UK or to apply for a work permit for their new employment. The Convention, however, would allow them to remain in the UK for the duration of their leave, whether or not they were still employed. We consider that unemployed migrants being able to remain in the UK and claim benefits in these circumstances would act as an unnecessary "pull factor" and undermine current immigration controls.

Wormwood Scrubs

Kevin McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures he has taken to ensure (a) that all entrance routes to the segregation unit at HMP Wormwood Scrubs are covered by close circuit television cameras and (b) that all visits to the unit by prison officers are recorded.

Paul Goggins: All entrances to the Wormwood Scrubs segregation unit and activity in the unit are covered by 16 continuously recording cameras.
	All staff are required to sign in and out of the unit.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Airline Passengers

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make it her policy to seek to increase levels of consumer protection for airline passengers on scheduled flights who are not part of a package holiday.

Charlotte Atkins: I have been asked to reply.
	The Government are currently examining the potential regulatory impact of a broad range of consumer protection options, including extending the current arrangements to cover airline passengers who are not part of a package holiday.

Avient

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry with regard to the recent Statement by the UK National Contact Point for the OECD Guidelines, on Avient, whether the National Contact Point sought confirmation of Avient's account of its activities during the war in the Democratic Republic of Congo (a) with MONUC and (b) with the UN's Department of Peace Keeping Operations; and if she will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: The Statement made by the National Contact Point (NCP) for the OECD Guidelines on Avient drew, in part, on documentation provided by the UN. In accordance with the confidentiality provisions of the Guidelines process that apply to the dialogue stage, the Government cannot discuss the content of the issues raised in that process.

Avient

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  with regard to the recent Statement by the UK National Contact Point for the OECD Guidelines, on Avient, what role (a) the Secretary of State and (b) the Department's solicitor played in the decision to exclude the non-governmental organisations RAID and Action contre I'impunite pour les Droits Humans (ACIDH) from acting as complainants; which officials were involved in the decision to proceed with the Avient case without a complainant; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  whether the non-governmental organisations RAID and Action contre I'impunite pour les Droits Humans (ACIDH) were accepted by her Department as complainants in respect of allegations against Avient.

Douglas Alexander: RAID and ACEDH have not submitted a complaint supported by evidence. They are not excluded from acting as complainants.
	They are welcome to enter their own complaint which will be dealt with under the procedures for the Guidelines.
	Ministers approved the recommendation for a twin track approach to the Avient case due to a requirement to maintain the confidentiality of the UN documentation.

Constitutional Treaty

John Cryer: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the cost of providing freepost by the Royal Mail for public information on the Constitutional Treaty for the European Union prior to and during the referendum.

Denis MacShane: I have been asked to reply.
	Enquiries are being made about the cost of distributing information on the EU Constitutional Treaty through Royal Mail. No decisions have yet been made on this issue.

Council Directives

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the implications for UK business of amendments to Council Directive 73/23/EEC set out in 2004/C 299/07, OJ C299 volume 47 of 4 December.

Douglas Alexander: There are no implications for UK business. The list as set out in 2004/C 299/07 is a full re-issuing of the list of notified bodies, and takes account of notified bodies of new member states that had joined in May 2004.

Employees' Health Care

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the proportion of (a) small and medium sized businesses and (b) UK employers who want to take some responsibility for their employees' health care.

Jane Kennedy: I have been asked to reply.
	No direct survey has been undertaken to establish the proportion of small and medium sized businesses and UK employers who want to take some responsibility for their employees' health care.
	The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) commissioned research by the Institute of Occupational Medicine (IOM) "Survey of Use of Occupational Health Support" published in June 2002 which showed that 3 per cent. of all companies throughout the UK provided occupational health support for their staff. Concern for health, safety and wellbeing of employees was the main reason quoted for having occupational health support regardless of size, sector or region.

Miners' Compensation

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which solicitors the Law Society has informed the Department have been ruled against for negligence under the miners compensation scheme.

Nigel Griffiths: The Department has not been advised of any findings of negligence as against "inadequate professional conduct" by the Law Society against solicitors handling claims under the miners compensation scheme.

Miners' Compensation

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what advice her Department is issuing following the recent Law Society ruling on Raleys Solicitors and negligence and the use by solicitors of her Department's coal compensation circular of spring 2004 as a defence of their actions.

Nigel Griffiths: The Department's advice was set out in its spring 2004 newsletter and reflects the ruling by the Law Society.

Nuclear Safety

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the (a) matters discussed and (b) decisions taken at the meeting of the EU Ad hoc Working Party on Nuclear Safety held in Brussels on 13 January; if she will place in the Library copies of documents discussed; and at what internet site details of the work of this ad hoc group may be found.

Mike O'Brien: Last June, the Council concluded that any Community instrument in the fields of nuclear installation safety or the safe management of radioactive waste and spent fuel should be developed only following a process of consultation involving stakeholders and should take account of future developments in the international arena running through at least into 2006. Last December, the Working Party on Atomic Questions adopted an Action Plan for implementing these Council Conclusions. It envisages a programme of activities for the member states, acting individually or collectively, linked to the standards-making work of the IAEA, the peer review processes of the relevant international Conventions and the efforts to harmonise regulatory approaches currently being undertaken by Europe's national nuclear safety authorities. At their meeting on 13 January, experts considered ways in which this work should be carried forward with a view to identifying what, if any, further action at EU level might be helpful in order to improve nuclear safety. At this stage, it is not clear what source documents will be considered although the Health and Safety Executive's expert intends to draw the Working Party's attention to the United Kingdom's third national report for the Convention on Nuclear Safety. This is available on the DTI's website. We expect that the Presidency will ensure that the Working Party's report is published on the EU's Europa website. Early indications suggest that the Presidency hopes to have an interim report ready in the spring.

Nuclear Safety

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether additional protection was required for (a) the low-level radioactive waste disposal trenches at Drigg and (b) the high-level radioactive waste storage tanks at Sellafield as a result of the recent stormy weather in Cumbria.

Mike O'Brien: I understand from BNFL, operator of the Sellafield and Drigg sites, that additional protection was not required for these facilities as a result of the recent adverse weather conditions in West Cumbria. Neither sustained any damage in the recent storms.

Research and Development (Expenditure)

Anne Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the expenditure of each agency sponsored by her Department on research and development has been in each financial year since 2001–02; and what percentage this represents of that agency's total expenditure in each year.

Nigel Griffiths: The information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Research Councils (Consultants)

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to her answer of 21 December 2004, Official Report, column 1614W, on Research Councils (Consultants), how much has been paid to consultants by each Research Council (a) to help them prepare for oral evidence sessions before Parliamentary Select Committees and (b) for other services in relation to parliamentary activities since June 2004.

Patricia Hewitt: I understand that my hon. Friend is seeking information on the period since June 2001.
	Research Councils paid the following amounts to consultants during this period.
	
		(a) To help them prepare for oral evidence sessions
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 BBSRC 10,719 
			 CCLRC 14,700 
			 EPSRC 21,194 
			 ESRC 13,007 
			 MRC 7,020 
			 NERC 10,880 
			 PPARC 6,786 
		
	
	
		(b) For other services in relation to parliamentary activities
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 BBSRC 0 
			 CCLRC 0 
			 EPSRC 54,274 
			 ESRC 0 
			 MRC 112,980 
			 NERC 0 
			 PPARC 317,331

Special Advisers

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many special advisers there are in the Department, broken down by Civil Service pay-grade.

Patricia Hewitt: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply given my hon. Friend the Minister at the Cabinet Office on 21 December 2004, Official Report, columns 1640–41W.

Special Advisers

Andrew Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether the contracts signed by her special advisers differ from the Model Contract for Special Advisers.

Patricia Hewitt: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 17 January 2005, Official Report, column 753W.

Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what progress has been made on arrangements to implement the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive by August.

Douglas Alexander: The Government have completed a consultation on draft implementing regulations and draft guidance for the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive. The Government are considering carefully the views expressed by respondents and in the light of these I and my ministerial colleagues will decide on the final regulations and guidance.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Child Care (Schools)

David Trimble: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the proposed level of funding for child care in schools is for the next three years.

Barry Gardiner: The Department of Education does not fund child care in schools in Northern Ireland.

DOE Planning Service

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how DOE Planning Service takes (a) the sustainability of the rural environment and (b) the possible destruction of mature trees and hedgerows into account when considering applications for planning permission.

Angela Smith: The information is as follows.
	(a) The Planning Service's approach to sustainable development is set out in its Planning Policy Statement 1: General Principles. When considering planning applications it is guided by the precautionary principle that, where there are significant risks of damage to the environment, its protection will generally be paramount, unless there are imperative reasons of overriding public interest.
	(b) Careful consideration is given to the potential impact of any proposed development upon existing trees, woodland and important hedgerows. Wherever possible, these will be protected by the imposition of conditions on planning approvals. Opportunities are also taken to secure new tree planting in development schemes. Where development involves the loss of trees, permission will normally be conditional on a replanting scheme with trees of appropriate numbers, species and size.

Long Service Award

Roy Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make available to the Department for Social Development in Northern Ireland the 25 year long service award offered in the Department for Work and Pensions.

Ian Pearson: A 25 year long service award is not currently part of the terms and conditions of employees of the Department for Social Development but its introduction will be considered as part of the 2005 pay round.

IT Projects

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list his Department's IT projects in each year since 1997, broken down by (a) amount spent, (b) purpose, (c) cost of over-run and (d) time of over-run.

Ian Pearson: The following table gives information on IT projects costing in excess of £1 million within the Northern Ireland Office Core, its agencies, the Bloody Sunday Inquiry and the Northern Ireland legal offices (Director of Public Prosecutions and Crown Solicitors Office).
	
		
			  Project Purpose Amount spent (£ million, excluding. VAT) Cost of over run (£000, excluding VAT) Time of Over run 
		
		
			 1997 — — — — — 
			 1998 — — — — — 
			 1999 OASIS Y2K Refresh To upgrade NIO departmental infrastructure and make it Y2K compliant. 2.2 None None 
			 1999 COMPASS (to 2002) To provide an e-human resources system for the Northern Ireland Prison Service. 5 0.06 3 months 
			 1998 Bloody Sunday Inquiry—Londonderry (to 2000) Implementation of IT systems to support the work of the inquiry. 2.6 None None 
			 2000 TARIFF (to 2004) To provide office automation and an electronic claim processing system for criminal injuries compensation in Northern Ireland 2 0.2 1 year 
			 2001 PRISM (to spring 2006) To provide a prisoner record system for the Northern Ireland Prison Service 7 Project ongoing Project ongoing 
			 2002 CAUSEWAY (PPP project to 20 13) A joint enterprise by criminal justice organisations in Northern Ireland to share information electronically 45 Project ongoing Project ongoing 
			 2002 Bloody Sunday Inquiry—London Implementation of IT systems to support the work of the inquiry. 2.5 None None 
			 2003 DPP INFRASTRUCTURE To implement a modern ICT infrastructure for the DPP NI. 1.2 None None 
			 2003 FLAX (to 2004) Replace NIO IT infrastructure, provide internet and intranet and meet electronic document and records management targets. 8. 5 None None

School Absence

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what percentage of pupils at each key stage in Northern Ireland were referred to the Education Welfare Service for persistent or chronic non-attendance in each academic year from 2000–01 to 2003–04.

Barry Gardiner: The percentage of pupils referred to the Education Welfare Service at each key stage in Northern Ireland from 2000–01 to 2002–03 is as follows:
	
		
			  Percentage pupils referred 
			 Key stage 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 
		
		
			 Primary 
			 Key stage 1 0.89 1.27 1.53 
			 Key stage 2 1.72 1.88 2.14 
			 
			 Post-Primary
			 Key stage 3 4.85 5.02 5.12 
			 Key stage 4 8.12 8.46 8.92 
		
	
	The information sought for 2003–04 is not yet available.
	I will write to the hon. Gentleman and provide the statistics for 2003–04 as soon as possible.

School Absence

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many pupils at each key stage were referred to the Education Welfare Service in Northern Ireland in 2003–04 for persistent or chronic non-attendance.

Barry Gardiner: The information sought is not available as the system used by the Education and Library Boards to record referrals to the Education Welfare Service was changed during 2003–04. Boards have been asked to provide the final returns for 2003–04 to the Department by 31 January and it is intended to publish this information on the website by the end of February 2005.
	I will write to the hon. Gentleman and provide the details for 2003–04 when they become available.

Midwife-led Maternity Units

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many midwife-led maternity units are operating in Northern Ireland; and at which locations.

Angela Smith: There is currently one midwifery-led unit located on the same site as the consultant obstetric unit in Northern Ireland, at Craigavon Area Hospital. We have plans to develop similar units at a number of other locations including Altnagelvin Hospital, the Ulster Hospital and the new Belfast Maternity Hospital.
	My announcement on 29 July 2004, allowed Boards and Trusts to consider the development of stand-alone Community Midwifery Units in locations where there is the support of local professionals and where safe and effective emergency transfer arrangements are in place. I understand that discussions are ongoing between Down Lisburn Trust and the Eastern Health and Social Services Board about the possibility of such a unit in Downpatrick.

Social Security Agency

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the average clearance times were in days achieved by the Social Security Agency (a) in each of the last four financial years and (b) in the current financial year to date for dealing with applications for (i) jobseeker's allowance, (ii) income support, (iii) disability living allowance and (iv) incapacity benefit.

John Spellar: The average clearance times in days achieved by the Social Security Agency in each of the last four financial years and in the current financial year to date for the benefit applications in question are set out in the following table.
	
		
			  2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 
			 Benefit type Target Result Target Result Target Result 
		
		
			 Jobseeker's allowance 93% in 21 days 94.7% in 21 days AACT 12 days AACT 8.7 days AACT 12 days AACT 9.5 days 
			 Income support 87% in 13 days 89.6% in 13 days AACT 12 days AACT 5 days AACT 12 days AACT 7.2 days 
			 Disability living  allowance 95% in 73 days 79% in 73 days 95% in 73 days AACT 83.9% in 73 days AACT 60 days AACT 73.6 days 
			 Incapacity benefit 85% in 30 days 80% in 30 days AACT 30 days AACT 28 days AACT 30 days AACT 29.1 days 
		
	
	
		
			 Benefit type 2003–04 2004–05 
			  Target Result Target Year to date 
		
		
			 Jobseeker's allowance AACT 12 days AACT 10 days AACT 12 days AACT 11 days 
			 Income support 12 days AACT 8.6 days AACT 12 days AACT 9.8 days 
			 Disability living allowance AACT 60 days AACT 95.1 days AACT 60 days AACT 57.9 days 
			 Incapacity benefit AACT 30 days AACT 28.5 days AACT 30 days AACT 39.6 days 
		
	
	Notes:
	The targets set for 2000–01 were expressed in terms of claims clearance time. These measured the percentage of processed claims which were cleared in X days.
	From April 2001 to date SSA performance is expressed in terms of actual average clearance times (AACT), i.e. the cumulative number of days taken to clear the claim divided by the total number of claims processed.

Social Security Agency

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the accuracy of the figures for (a) debtors and (b) creditors recorded by the Social Security Agency.

John Spellar: The Agency reports on debtors and creditors for both administration and programme expenditure.
	Administration expenditure
	The Agency has systems in place, both automated and manual, to collate and report on debtors and creditors.
	The debtors and creditors are reported in the Agency Annual Accounts which are audited by the Northern Ireland Audit Office (NIAO). The NIAO have certified the accuracy of debtors and creditors.
	Programme expenditure
	The benefit overpayment debtor balance in the 2003–04 Social Security Agency account was qualified by NIAO because of significant uncertainty over the accuracy and completeness of debt records.
	The Agency is actively engaged in resolving these problems, and has established a debt management transformation programme. This will result in the procurement of a modern IT system for the management of debt and improved debt processes to both account for debt much more accurately in future and achieve better recovery rates.
	Likewise, NIAO considered that there was considerable uncertainty over the encashment control creditor balance.
	The Agency believes that much more reliance can be placed on the creditor balance. This is because benefit payments "issued" are recorded by the programme accounting computer system and the actual encashments of these payments are either reconciled by the Agency or agreed with the Post Office.
	The difference between payments issued less those encashed is represented by the creditor balance and so the Agency concludes that, although a customer breakdown of the total is unavailable, the balance itself is actually robust.

Strangford Lough

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when (a) his Department, (b) the Police Service of Northern Ireland and (c) each other relevant agency was alerted to the ploughing of the intertidal mudflats at Strangford Lough over the Christmas and new year period; and at what time, and by whom, action was taken to (i) halt the ploughing, (ii) to caution the perpetrator and (iii) to investigate the extent of damage to the ecosystem.

Angela Smith: The Department of the Environment became aware of the ploughing of the mudflats on Monday 3 January 2005 when an officer of the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT) telephoned the Environment and Heritage Service Water Pollution Hotline. The Police Service of Northern Ireland was alerted to the situation when it was called to deal with an incident on Strangford Lough shore on 27 December. Several other interest groups including WWT, National Trust and Northern Ireland Environment Link became aware of the damage at intervals during the holiday period and contacted the media to highlight the issue.
	On 3 January an officer of the Department spoke to, and formally cautioned, one individual regarding the damage, further explaining that the action had to cease as it was in contravention of the Environment (Northern Ireland) Order 2002. The persons believed to have been responsible had previously been approached and advised to stop what they were doing, on 28 December 2004 and 3 January 2005, by officers of WWT. Investigations are continuing in an effort to determine the extent of damage and to identify all of those involved. A comprehensive scientific report is being prepared by an expert in the field and will be used to inform the next stages in the process.

Suicides

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many suicides there were in Northern Ireland in 2004.

Ian Pearson: Data for the 2004 calendar year are not yet available. Provisional data for the nine-month period 1 January 2004 to 30 September 2004 show 98 deaths registered in Northern Ireland due to "suicide and self-inflicted injury" and 13 deaths due to "undetermined injury whether accidentally or purposefully inflicted". In the corresponding period in 2003 there were, respectively, 108 and five deaths due to these two causes.

Sure Start

David Burnside: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the effects on community groups in north Belfast of the decision to withdraw Sure Start funding from Home Start programmes in the area.

Angela Smith: At present, the Sure Start project operating within the Ardoyne and Oldpark areas is being reviewed in terms of the need for continued Home Start services but no decision has yet been reached. What is, however, important to stress is that an undertaking has been given to retain Sure Start resources within the geographical area of Ardoyne and Oldpark so that families and children under the age of four will continue to benefit from a comprehensive range of Sure Start services in their local area.

Translink

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many new trains Translink has taken delivery of in each of the past six months in Northern Ireland.

John Spellar: The number of new trains Translink has taken delivery of in each of the past six months in Northern Ireland is as follows:
	
		
			  Number of new trains 
		
		
			 July 2004 0 
			 August 2004 0 
			 September 2004 0 
			 October 2004 2 
			 November 2004 2 
			 December 2004 3 
			 Total 7 
		
	
	In addition, Translink took delivery of one new train in April 2004 and two in May 2004.

Waste Water Treatment

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the implications for planning applications in (a) North Down and (b) in the rest of Northern Ireland of the recent European Commission threat of infringement proceedings for inadequate waste water treatment infrastructure.

Angela Smith: It is too early to assess the implications for planning applications in North Down and the rest of Northern Ireland at this stage. However, Government officials are seeking further senior legal counsel advice on the matter.

West Tyrone Area Plan

David Trimble: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when the West Tyrone Area Plan will be published.

Angela Smith: I refer the right hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for North Down on 18 November 2004, Official Report, column 1775W.

TREASURY

Burnley Constituency

Peter Pike: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people in the Burnley constituency were unemployed in (a) 1997 and (b) 2004; what percentage change that represents; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Peter Pike, dated 20 January 2005
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about unemployment in the Burnley Parliamentary Constituency.
	The estimates available relate to the twelve-month periods ending in February 1997 and February 2004, the latest period for which figures are available. In these periods the numbers of unemployed people, who were resident in the Burnley Parliamentary Constituency, were 2,200 and 1,900 respectively.
	These estimates from Labour Force Survey (LFS) are, as with any sample survey, subject to sampling variability and the estimates of changes over time for local areas are particularly affected.
	A more reliable indication of change between 1997 and 2004 at Parliamentary Constituency level is the number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA). The annual average number of people resident in the Burnley constituency claiming JSA benefits in 1997 was 1,531. The corresponding average for the first 11 months of 2004 was 1,006. Between the two years there was a fall of 34 per cent.

Cancer Survival Rates (Women)

Jim Cunningham: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer what the most recent figures are for the survival rates for women suffering from cancer.

Stephen Timms: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Jim Cunningham, dated 20 January 2005
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question concerning the most recent survival rates for women suffering from cancer. (209280)
	The latest available one- and five-year survival rates for the 20 most common cancers in England and Wales are for adult patients (aged 15–99 years) diagnosed during 1996–99 and followed up to 31 December 2001. These figures were published on the National Statistics website on 9 March 2004, and are available at:
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/statbase/ssdataset.asp?vlnk=7899

Child Trust Funds

Mark Fisher: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many children in Stoke on Trent are eligible for the Child Trust Fund; and what percentage of children in Stoke on Trent this represents.

Stephen Timms: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Battersea (Martin Linton) on 30 November 2004, Official Report, columns 87–88W. All children born and living in the UK since 1 September 2002 whose families receive child benefit will be eligible for the Child Trust Fund.

Child Trust Funds

Richard Burden: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether further primary legislation would be required to enable moneys allocated under the Child Trust Fund to be reclaimed.

Stephen Timms: Once a payment has been made into a Child Trust Fund account the money belongs to the child in whose name the account is held. However, section 11 of the Child Trust Fund Act 2004 makes provision for recouping contributions that should not have been made. The Child Trust Fund Regulations 2004 allow the Inland Revenue to reclaim a payment made in error or as a result of fraud.

Departmental Expenditure

George Osborne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much the Department spent on lawyers in each year since 1997, broken down by (a) number of actions, (b) number of settlements, (c) number of court cases and (d) the costs of each settlement.

Stephen Timms: HM Treasury paid the following sums to the Treasury Solicitor (in the case of 2003–04 to the Treasury Solicitor and, in relation to one case, a private sector firm) for work billed by litigation teams for the years in question:
	
		
			  Cases worked on in year Total (fees and disbursements) (£) 
		
		
			 1997–98 147 116,527.96 
			 1998–99 133 87,489.15 
			 1999–2000 157 82,305.13 
			 2000–01 118 36,142.09 
			 2001–02 127 89,137.45 
			 2002–03 156 636,091.44 
			 2003–04 137 720,018.58 
		
	
	The figure for "Cases worked on" in any given year will normally correspond to the number of actions/cases, but will also include pre-action matters and certain other work such as that on inquiries. Cases worked on in more than one year will be counted for each year concerned.

Earnings (Scotland)

Michael Moore: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the (a) average and (b) median (i) weekly and (ii) hourly gross earnings (A) including and (B) excluding overtime is of (1) managers, (2) senior professional, (3) associate professional and technical, (4) administrative and secretarial, (5) skilled trades, (6) personal service, (7) sales and customer service, (8) process, plant and machine operatives and (9) elementary occupational groups are in each local authority area in Scotland, broken down by (x) male, (y) female and (z) all workers.

Stephen Timms: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Colin Mowl to Mr. Michael Moore, dated 20 January 2005
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question on earnings in Scotland. I am replying in his absence. (209268)
	Average earnings are estimated from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) and are provided for employees on adult rates of pay whose pay was unaffected by absence during the pay period, by their place of work. This is the standard definition used for Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings tables. The Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings does not collect data on the self-employed and people who do unpaid work. The survey, carried out in April of each year, is the most comprehensive source of earnings information in the United Kingdom. It has a one per cent. sample of all employees.
	Data for local authority areas in Scotland broken down by occupation groups are not currently available; however data for Scotland broken down by occupation groups are available on the National Statistics web site as follows:
	Weekly gross earnings including overtime:
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_labour/ASHE_2004_inc/tab3_la.xls
	Weekly gross earnings excluding overtime:
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_labour/ASHE_2004_inc/tab3_2a.xls
	Hourly gross earnings including overtime:
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_labour/ASHE_2004_inc/tab3_5a.xls
	Hourly gross earnings excluding overtime:
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_labour/ASHE_2004_jnc/tab3_6a.xls
	A number of estimates have been removed from the published tables to maintain the confidentiality of individual employees.

External Supplies

John Mann: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many tenders were let by his Department to external suppliers in the financial year 2003–04; and what the value was.

Stephen Timms: The core Treasury procurement service let 16 tenders in 2003–04, covering periods of up to five years, with a total value of £29.2 million. Of this total, £13.3 million was for a two year contract let by the Treasury, but handed over to the Home Office to administer and pay for.

Foundation Hospitals

Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether loans to foundation hospitals by banks are counted as public sector borrowing.

Paul Boateng: Yes. The independent Office for National Statistics classifies NHS foundation trusts as public sector bodies. This means that their transactions and liabilities count as transactions and liabilities of the public sector.

National Insurance Fund

Adam Price: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much money was allocated from the National Insurance Fund to (a) the state pension and (b) sickness benefit in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Chris Pond: I have been asked to reply.
	The information is in the following table.
	
		£ million
		
			  Retirement pension Incapacity benefit 
		
		
			 1999–2000 37,775 6,790 
			 2000–01 38,718 6,766 
			 2001–02 41,893 6,749 
			 2002–03 44,338 6,758 
			 2003–04 46,457 6,718 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Retirement pension includes contributory retirement pension basic and earnings related expenditure.
	2. Incapacity benefit includes short term lower and higher, long term and earnings related expenditure.
	3. Figures are for Great Britain and rounded to the nearest million.

NHS Expenditure

Norman Lamb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will update the estimates of (a) the total NHS spending in the UK in 2005–06, 2006–07 and 2007–08 in figure 6.1 of the Budget 2002 and (b) gross UK NHS Spending as a proportion of GDP in 2005–06, 2006–07 and 2007–08 in figure 6.2 of the Budget 2002.

Paul Boateng: The information is as follows:
	
		Table 6.1: NHS spending in the UK -- £ billion
		
			  2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 Average real growth 
		
		
			 Total UK public sector health spending(28) 88.6 97.4 107.2 7.1 
			 Of which: 
			 England 76.4 83.8 92.1 6.9 
		
	
	(28) The public sector health spending figures are based on the UN Classification of the Functions of Government (COFOG), the international standard as used in the Public Expenditure Statistical Analysis 2004.
	
		Table 6.2: UK health spending as a proportion of GDP -- Percentage of GDP
		
			  2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 
		
		
			 Total UK health spending 8.6 8.9 9.2 
			 Of which:
			 Total UK public sector spending 7.1 7.5 7.8 
			 Total UK private sector spending(29) 1.4 1.4 1.4 
		
	
	(29) Private health spending is based on the definition used for ONS Health Accounts and is assumed to stay at a constant share of GDP

Single Currency

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many of the five economic tests for joining the euro he assesses are being met.

Stephen Timms: The Government published an assessment of the five economic tests in June 2003. As the Chancellor announced in his 2004 Budget speech,
	"while the Government do not propose a euro assessment be initiated at the time of this Budget, the Treasury will again review progress at Budget time next year and report to the House."

Tax Credits

Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average time taken to decide an appeal against the Inland Revenue's decision to recover an overpayment in tax credits is; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: The information requested is not available.

Tax Credits

Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the level of accuracy of processing and calculating new tax credits is for (a) 2003–04 and (b) the current tax year.

Stephen Timms: For the level of accuracy of processing and calculating tax credits for 2003–04 I refer my hon. Friend to page 29 of the Inland Revenue's Annual Report and Accounts for the year ending 31 March 2004. This is available on the Inland Revenue website at www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk The Inland Revenue will similarly report against its targets for 2004–05 in due course.

Tax Credits

Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether a recipient of tax credits is able to return overpayments to the Inland Revenue as they occur.

Stephen Timms: If a tax credit claimant has been overpaid they can pay back their overpayment by sending a cheque made payable to "Inland Revenue":
	Tax Credit Office
	Valuables Team
	Preston PR1 OSB.
	In Northern Ireland, cheques can be sent to:
	Tax Credit Office (Nl)
	Dorchester House
	Great Victoria Street
	Belfast BT2 7WF.

Tax Credits

Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the appeal made on 17 November 2004 against the Inland Revenue's decision to recover overpayments from the right hon. Member for Birkenhead's constituent, Mrs. Wynne, will be heard.

Stephen Timms: The Inland Revenue wrote to Mrs. Wynne about her 2003–04 overpayment on 10 January 2005.

Tax Credits

Paul Tyler: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many requests to reconsider recovery of overpayments of tax credit have been received; how many have been dealt with; and how many of those dealt with were successful on the grounds of an official error.

Stephen Timms: I refer the hon. Member to my hon. Friend's reply to the hon. Member for Aberdeen, South (Miss Begg) on 10 January 2005, Official Report, column 129W.

Tax Returns

Vincent Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many taxpayers who completed a tax return returned it by the 31 January deadline in each year from 1997; and how many missed the deadline.

Dawn Primarolo: The total numbers of self assessment tax returns received at 31 January and still outstanding at 31 January are detailed as follows:
	
		Million
		
			  Number of returns: 
			 Return year Received at 31 January Outstanding after 31 January deadline 
		
		
			 1996–97 7.874 0.666 
			 1997–98 8.198 0.820 
			 1998–99 8.211 0.877 
			 1999–2000 8.131 0.949 
			 2000–01 8.253 0.860 
			 2001–02 8.371 0.875 
			 2002–03 8.581 0.893

Tax Returns

Vincent Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much has been levied in fines for tax returns received after the 31 January deadline in each year since 1997; and how many of these fines remain unpaid.

Dawn Primarolo: The amount raised in respect of penalties for failure to submit self assessment tax returns, by the due date, in each year since 1997 is shown in the following table. The years relate to Inland Revenue accounting years that run to the end of October each year.
	
		
			 Year to end of October Penalties raised (£ million) 
		
		
			 1997 Not applicable 
			 1998 116.41 
			 1999 133.29 
			 2000 148.39 
			 2001 147.96 
			 2002 143.24 
			 2003 151.13 
		
	
	The amount of unpaid penalties at the end of October 2003 was £134.95 million. This figure includes penalties raised in earlier years but still unpaid at October 2003.
	Inland Revenue do not have readily available the number of penalties still unpaid.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Tuition Fees

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many students from Cornwall are paying tuition fees.

Kim Howells: In academic year 2004/05, provisional data show that 2,318 students domiciled in Cornwall are paying the full fee contribution. A further 1,253 are making a partial contribution, while 3,851 are making no contribution to their fees at all.

Armed Forces Families

David Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what progress the working group on the funding of schools with a large percentage of pupils drawn from families serving in Her Majesty's armed forces has made; and when Ministers expect to announce conclusions.

Derek Twigg: We have received correspondence about this issue from the working group considering the needs of schools with large numbers of service children. They have put forward a number of proposals, some of which we have already been able to make progress on and we will be responding to them in full in the near future.

League Tables

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on value added league tables of school performance.

Stephen Twigg: Value added measures are based on the progress made by students at all levels of attainment, and take account of student intakes. We have now introduced a KS2-GCSE VA measure, alongside the existing measures already published, showing progress made for the whole of a student's secondary phase of education. We are developing a more sophisticated methodology which takes account of factors such as gender, ethnicity, socio-economic factors and mobility for use in future years' tables.

Funding

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what representations she has received regarding funding shortfalls for schools in East Sussex for 2005–06.

Stephen Twigg: The only representation from East Sussex Council was to discuss additional funding via the Transitional Support Grant. They will receive £1.6 million through this grant in 2005–06. The provisional funding settlement announced is a good one as East Sussex's Schools Formula Spending Share will rise by 5.5 per cent. per pupil giving headroom and flexibility for the LEA to target resources at schools with particular pressures.

Funding

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make it her policy to reduce variations in per pupil funding for shire county local education authorities.

Stephen Twigg: We will shortly be consulting on the education funding proposals set out in the Five Year Strategy for Children and Learners. But the proposals are not about an arbitrary change in variations in per pupil funding between various authorities. LEAs will continue to be funded under the formula on the basis of relative need. Our top priority in making any funding changes from 2006–07 is continued stability and predictability for schools in their funding.

Construction Skills Training

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what funding is available for construction skills training.

Ivan Lewis: The Government currently provides £325 million to fund construction skills training via the Learning and Skills Council. This is in addition to the £97 million contributed by the industry through the Construction Industry Training Board levy.

Student Debt

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on the current level of student debt.

Kim Howells: Figures provided by the Student Loans Company show the total amount outstanding in respect of publicly-owned student loan debt in the United Kingdom, at the end of financial year 2003–04, was £13,364 million. This is a provisional figure, which includes loans not yet due for repayment.

Class Sizes

Parmjit Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment she has made of the impact of smaller class sizes on primary school pupils.

Derek Twigg: Research carried out for the Department by the University of London's Institute of Education showed that there was a significant beneficial effect of class size on children's educational progress in Reception for both literacy and maths. However, the research found that there was no evidence that children made more progress in maths, English or science in smaller classes at Key Stage 2.

Vocational Education

Graham Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment she has made of the financial co-operation between local education authorities and the Learning and Skills Council in implementing the Government's 14–19 strategy for vocational education; and if she will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: The joint 16–19 Capital Fund announced in the Department's five year strategy will be available for cross-sector projects, including vocational provision. The forthcoming 14–19 White Paper will consider how financial co-operation between LEAs and the LSC can be further developed to help support implementation of the 14–19 strategy.

College/School Funding Gap

Andrew Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on the salary gap between teachers in the further education sector and those in the schools sector.

Kim Howells: Success for All, the strategy for reforming further education and training, makes clear that the Government's approach to pay is to enable local flexibility to meet local needs and to encourage a clear link between pay and individual performance. General FE colleges and sixth form colleges are autonomous institutions and as such negotiate their own pay and conditions of service with staff and their unions without Government involvement.
	We have made significant investments in funding for colleges. Total funding is set to rise by over £1 billion in 2005–06 when compared with 2002–03.
	The latest available data suggests that salaries of teachers in further education are lower on average than those of teachers in schools.

Education Maintenance Allowance

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many students in Hendon are in receipt of education maintenance allowance; and if she will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: Information on the number of young people who have applied, enrolled and been paid EMA is available at local authority level. By the end of December 2004, 837 young people in the Barnet local education authority area were enrolled for EMA by their school or college, with 823 having received an EMA payment.

External Suppliers

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  how many tenders were let by her Department to external suppliers in the financial year 2004–05; and what the value was;
	(2)  how many tenders, and to what value, were let by her Department to external suppliers in the financial year 2003–04.

Derek Twigg: This information could be supplied only at disproportionate cost.

Faith-based Schools

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many applications from faith-based groups to open new state-funded schools have been (a) received and (b) granted since the School Standards and Framework Act 1998.

Stephen Twigg: Promoters of faith-based schools have published proposals to establish 64 new LEA maintained schools with a religious character since the School Standards and Framework Act came into force in 1999. Of these 57 have been approved by the local School Organisation Committee or Schools Adjudicator and two have not yet been decided.
	These figures include community schools that have closed and re-opened as a new school with a religious character. They exclude new schools established as a result of an amalgamation where at least one of the schools was an existing faith school.
	To date five academies established since 1998 have applied for designation as schools with a religious character and all have been accepted.

Higher Education

Bob Laxton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much public funding has been spent on higher education in Derby, north in each year between 1997 and 2004.

Kim Howells: Derby university is the only Higher Educational Institution (HEI) located within the parliamentary constituency of Derby, north hence all data in the answer relate to this institution.
	Public funding for Derby university from the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) is shown in the first table.
	
		Recurrent funding for University of Derby1, 2 -- £000
		
			   Of which: 
			  Recurrent funds for teaching and research Teaching Research Funds for rewarding and developing staff (32) 
		
		
			 1997–98 17,408 17,067 341 — 
			 1998–99 20,716 20,295 422 — 
			 1999–00 22,064 21,612 452 — 
			 2000–01 23,140 22,683 457 — 
			 2001–02 24,066 23,087 452 528 
			 2002–03 24,690 23,667 234 789 
			 2003–04 27,242 25,734 317 1,191 
			 2004–05 30,082 29,766 315 — 
		
	
	(30) HEFCE is not able to provide data on funding allocated in respect of students ordinarily resident in Derby North.
	(31) Funding figures show HEFCE recurrent grant for teaching and research only. They exclude other HEFCE grants such as for capital and other special initiatives. They also exclude funding from other public sources, such as the NHS, TTA, LSC, research councils etc.
	(32) Funding for rewarding and developing staff was first allocated for 2001–02 and transferred into teaching grant in 2004–05.
	Source:
	HEFCE
	Data on hardship and other bursaries allocated to Derby university are shown in the second table.
	
		Hardship/access to learning fund allocations, fee waivers and opportunity bursaries allocations—University of Derby 1997–98 to 2004–05
		
			  Hardship fund/access to learning fund allocations Fee waivers Opportunity bursaries allocations 
		
		
			 1997–98 134,363 n/a n/a 
			 1998–99 501,055 n/a n/a 
			 1999–00 759,046 n/a n/a 
			 2000–01 983,402 33,085 n/a 
			 2001–02 1, 2822,812 44,219 85,000 
			 2002–03 (33)(34)848,665 43,438 143,000 
			 2003–04 (34)817,981 62,711 201,500 
			 2004–05 (34)917,730 (35)30,322 (36)112,500 
		
	
	n/a = Not applicable
	(33) For hardship/access to learning funds, initial allocations are shown for 2001–2 and 2002–03. The allocations were later adjusted—usually upwards by up to 10 per cent.--because in these years the guidance was produced prior to the data—necessary to model final allocations—could be made available.
	(34) From 2003–04 onwards actual allocations are shown as due to developments in the timetable for gathering data this information was available much earlier. Allocations could also be affected by the redistribution of unspent funding recovered from under spending institutions later in the financial year.
	(35) From 2004–05 the fee waiver budget was incorporated into new statutory support package for part time students. Some funding was retained—up to £3 million nationally—for transitional protection for eligible continuing students who received a fee waiver in 2003–04 but whose fees were not entirely met by the new package.
	(36) There were no opportunity bursaries for new students in 2004–05 as the bursaries were replaced by the HE grant from 2004–05. This figure relates to continuing bursary instalments only.
	Data on public expenditure paid to students at Derby university by the Student Loans Company (SLC) in respect of grants, income-contingent loan cash outlay, and tuition fees for academic years 1999/00 to 2004/05 (provisional) are shown in the third table.
	Data are not available at the level requested prior to academic year 1999/00.
	
		SLC expenditure on grants1, 2, income-contingent loan cash outlay2, and tuition fees3 paid to students studying at Derby university 4 academic years 1999/2000 to 2004/055
		
			 Academic Year SLC Expenditure (£ million) 
		
		
			 1999/00 19.2 
			 2000/01 25.0 
			 2001/02 26.5 
			 2002/03 28.0 
			 2003/04 31.0 
			 2004/05 32.2 
		
	
	(37) Up to and including academic year 2003/04 data on grant expenditure for student support scheme relates to additional allowances/grants to eligible students for extra help depending on their circumstances, e.g. students with disabilities, students with dependents, single parent students, those incurring certain travel costs, and those who have recently left care. In addition, data for 2004/05 include expenditure on the higher education grant which was introduced for new students in 2004/05 to help cover the cost of participating in higher education.
	(38) Students domiciled in England and Wales.
	(39) Students domiciled in England, Wales and the EU.
	(40) Data also includes planned expenditure.
	(41) Provisional (as at 14 January 2005).
	Data on public expenditure for mortgage style loans, part-time fee grants and part-time course grants are not readily available at the level requested. I will include details of these expenditures in the house library when available.

Higher Education

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the answer of 16 December 2004; Official Report, columns 1288–89W, on higher education, if she will ask the Higher Education Statistics Agency to collect and publish data on students whose highest qualification on entry is a vocational qualification; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: The Higher Education Statistics Agency already collect the entry qualifications of entrants to HE each year, as part of their individualised student record. Not all courses are separately identified but the categories of entry qualifications they use, covering both academic and vocational courses, are listed on their website at http://www.hesa.ac.uk/manuals/archive.htm. HESA publish summaries of this information in their annual reference volume "Students in Higher Education Institutions", copies of which are available from the House Library.

Industrial Training Boards

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the average time taken for employers seeking to be taken out of the scope of an industrial training board was in the last year for which figures are available.

Ivan Lewis: The last time employers were taken out of the scope of an industrial training board was in 1992, when the Construction Board Order was amended. It is not possible in the time available to obtain the information requested but I will write to the hon. Member as soon I have it.

Industrial Training Boards

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what discussions (a) she and (b) her officials have held since January 2004 with the British Exhibition Contractors Association on the requirements for their members to be registered with the Construction Industry Training Board; and if she will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: I have had no discussions with the British Exhibition Contractors Association. My officials met with a representative of the association in October 2004 to discuss the position of his members in relation to the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB). It was agreed that the association would set out for me the arguments for removing exhibition contracting from the scope of the CITB. I have not yet received any proposal from them.

Industrial Training Boards

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when the requirement for exhibition contractors to be registered with the Construction Industry Training Board was last reviewed; and if she will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: The requirement would only be reviewed at the request of either the employers concerned or the Construction Industry Training Board. I have received no such request but am expecting one shortly from the British Exhibition Contractors Association on behalf of the employers.

Industrial Training Boards

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many exhibition construction companies have appealed to industrial tribunals since May 1997 seeking exemption from the Industrial Training Act 1982; and what the results were.

Ivan Lewis: Since May 1997 four exhibition contractors have appealed to Industrial Tribunals seeking exemption from paying levy to CITB. Of these, three were withdrawn before a hearing, and one had its appeal upheld.

Industrial Training Boards

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the procedure to be followed is for companies seeking exemption from the requirements of the Industrial Training Act 1982.

Ivan Lewis: The procedure to be followed by companies seeking to be removed from the scope of an Industrial Training Board is as follows;
	The detailed arguments should be set out in writing to my Department, along with information on how the companies would organise and fund their training needs if they were no longer covered by the ITB.
	I will consult with the industry and other relevant bodies and also with Ministers in the Devolved Administrations.
	I will decide, taking all relevant issues into account, whether the request should be agreed and write to the applicants informing them of my decision.
	If I agree to the request my Department's legal advisers will draft a revised statutory instrument.
	The statutory instrument must be approved by Parliament before it can come into effect.

Pay TV

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many pay television subscriptions the Department had in each year since 1997; and what the cost was in each year.

Stephen Twigg: My Department receives a parliamentary broadcast package consisting of 27 channels. The package is supplied by Initial Communications and has been since 1994 at nil cost. The Sky channels that are part of the package are also supplied at nil cost. In addition, the department pays for a satellite subscription for use at our contingency site at Croydon. This arrangement has only been set up since September 2001 and the costs incurred are as follows:
	
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 2003–04 4,000 
			 2003–05 6,000

Press Officers

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many press officers are employed in the Department.

Derek Twigg: The Department for Education and Skills has 17 press officers.

Primary Schools (Watford)

Claire Ward: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the standards of numeracy and literacy in primary schools in Watford were (a) in 1997 and (b) on the latest date for which figures are available.

Stephen Twigg: The proportion of 11-year-olds in Watford achieving the expected level at Key Stage 2 English rose from 68.6 per cent. in 1997 to 81.5 per cent. in 2004. For mathematics, the proportion rose 63.8 per cent. in 1997 to 77.7 per cent. in 2004.

HEALTH

Acute Hospital Beds

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many acute hospital beds are available at NHS hospitals within the Greater London area.

Stephen Ladyman: In 2003–04, there were 16,676 acute beds available in the five London strategic health authorities.

Cancer Services

Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department has commissioned into the frequencies with which (a) men and (b) women access primary care for cancer.

Melanie Johnson: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave on 14 October 2004, Official Report, column 356W to my hon. and learned Friend the Member for Dudley, North (Ross Cranston).

Cancer Services

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the commitment to spending an extra £570 million on cancer services by 2004 in the September 2000 NHS Cancer Plan was fulfilled; and how extra money relating to cancer services since the publication of that plan has been spent.

Melanie Johnson: An exercise to identify how the additional £570 million announced in the national health service cancer plan was spent in 2003–04 is currently underway. Results will be published soon. However, we are confident that the £570 million figure will be met.

Dentists

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress his Department has made to agreeing an NHS dentistry charging system to reflect future preventative treatment patterns, as recommended in the National Audit Office report, Reforming NHS Dentistry: Ensuring Effective Management of Risks.

Rosie Winterton: The Department has received a report on options for a future system of dental patient charges from a working group chaired by Harry Cayton, the Department's director for patients and the public. Harry Cayton's group was asked to devise a system, which was straightforward and easy to understand by patients and dentists, was easy to operate and implement and which raised the same proportion of charges revenue as now. We will be consulting on proposals for the new charging system later this year.

Departmental Expenditure

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much the Department spent on lawyers in each year since 1997; broken down by (a) number of actions, (b) number of settlements, (c) number of court cases and (d) the costs of each settlement.

Rosie Winterton: The information requested is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is in the table. Data concerning case numbers, court cases and settlements could only be obtained by calling up individual cases and this would involve disproportionate cost.
	The information provided refers only to amounts spent on litigation, not advisory work.
	
		
			  Amount (£) 
		
		
			 1997–98 1,352,385.50 
			 1998–99 1,986,723.60 
			 1999–2000 3,404,369.20 
			 2000–01 2,602,100.40 
			 2001–02 2,058,405.07 
			 2002–03 1,623,688.92 
			 2003–04 2,396,356.84

Departmental Expenditure

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the running costs of the Department were in each year since 1997, broken down by (a) electricity, (b) water, (c) gas, (d) telephones, (e) mobile telephones and (f) televisions.

Rosie Winterton: The information shown on the various elements of the Department's running costs are those available from its accounting system.
	The costs for the principal buildings on the Department's London estate are as follows:
	
		
			  Cost (£) 
		
		
			 Electricity  
			 1997–98 615,007 
			 1998–99 641,783 
			 1999–2000 634,859 
			 2000–01 545,079 
			 2001–02 579,102 
			 2002–03 551,938 
			 2003–04 572,782 
			   
			 Gas  
			 1997–98 28,518 
			 1998–99 45,880 
			 1999–2000 58,134 
			 2000–01 70,504 
			 2001–02 76,097 
			 2002–03 86,366 
			 2003–04 86,366 
			   
			 Water and sewerage  
			 1997–98 36,396 
			 1998–99 33,641 
			 1999–2000 32,607 
			 2000–01 32,224 
			 2001–02 29,009 
			 2002–03 34,684 
			 2003–04 29,372 
		
	
	Note:
	The cost of water is not maintained separately.
	Telephones
	The running costs for telephones are not available as they cannot be separated out from other telecommunications data costs.
	
		Mobile telephones
		
			  Cost (£) 
		
		
			 2001–02 265,000 
			 2002–03 275,000 
			 2003–04 300,000 
		
	
	Note:
	The cost of mobile phones is not available prior to 2001.
	Television
	The annual cost is£ 27,739.40 (inclusive of value added tax).

Diabetes

Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress had been made in each strategic health authority towards the target for 80 per cent. of diabetics to be offered retinopathy screening by 2006 (a) at Q4 of 2003–04 and (b) at the last quarter for which figures are available.

Rosie Winterton: The information requested has been placed in the Library.

Directors of Infection Prevention and Control

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the Department plans to publish guidance on the role of Directors of Infection Prevention and Control.

Melanie Johnson: Guidance on competencies for directors of infection prevention and control was distributed in May 2004 and is available on the Department's website at http://www.dh.gov.uk/PublicationsAndStatistics/LettersAndCirculars/DearColleagueLetters/DearColleagueLettersArticle/fs/en?CONTENT_ID=4083982&chk=Z4VWx7. Copies have been placed in the Library.

Doctor Vacancies

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many vacancies there are for doctors in NHS hospitals within the Greater London area.

Stephen Ladyman: The information requested is collected by strategic health authority (SHA) area. Data for the London SHAs are shown in the table.
	
		Vacancies by London SHA area(42), medical and dental staff (excluding training grades)—three month vacancy numbers(43) as at 31 March 2004
		
			   Number 
		
		
			  England 1,666 
			  of which:  
			  London GOR 315 
			 Q04 North West London SHA 92 
			 Q05 North Central London SHA 30 
			 Q06 North East London SHA 77 
			 Q07 South East London SHA 104 
			 Q08 South West London SHA 12 
		
	
	(42) SHA figures are based on trusts and do not necessarily reflect the geographical provision of healthcare.
	(43) Three month vacancies are vacancies as at 31 March 2004 which trusts are actively trying to fill, which had lasted for three months or more (whole time equivalents).
	Source:
	Department of Health vacancies survey 2004

Flu/Pneumonia Vaccines

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  if he will list, by primary care trust, how many people had received the (a) flu and (b) pneumonia vaccine by 30 November;
	(2)  what percentage of eligible people in each primary care trust had received the (a) influenza and (b) pneumonia vaccine by 30 November.

Melanie Johnson: Information has been placed in the Library, showing:
	The number of eligible people—those 65 year and over and those under 65 years in a medical risk group—who received flu immunisation for which data is available as at the end of November 2004, by primary care trust.
	The number of people 80 years and over, who were immunised during the first year of the pneumococcal immunisation programme—from 20 Aug 2003 to 31 March 2004—by primary care trust.

Health Care-associated Infection

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when statistics will be available on (a) clostridium difficile infections, (b) vancomycin resistant enterococci and (c) surgical site infections.

Melanie Johnson: Information on "Clostridium difidle" disease, vancomycin resistant enterococci and surgical site infections is already available from the Health Protection Agency's voluntary reporting scheme and published routinely on their website. Data from the mandatory surveillance system is likely to be available later this year.

Heroin Addiction

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the level of heroin addiction was in the Greater London area for the latest period for which figures are available.

Stephen Ladyman: This information is not collected centrally.

Mobile Phones

Glenda Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will institute a review into the possible health implications of mobile telephones in the light of the report by the National Radiological Protection Board.

Melanie Johnson: The National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB) provides statutory advice on risks from exposure to radiation and electromagnetic fields. Its recent publication, "Mobile Phones and Health 2004"—Documents of the NRPB, Vol. 15, No. 5, 2004—has reviewed the possible health implications of mobile phones and made a number of recommendations. The report is available on the NRPB website at www.nrpb.org and is available in the Library. The Government are currently considering the detailed recommendations.

Mobile Phones

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what advice he is giving to those who have (a) a pacemaker and (b) a digital hearing aid on the advisability of using a mobile phone on a regular basis; and if he will make a statement.

Melanie Johnson: holding answer 18 January 2005
	The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency's (MHRA) predecessor, the Medical Devices Agency (MDA), issued guidance to clinicians about possible interference effects to pacemakers from digital mobile telephones in February 1996 in Pacemaker Technical Note PTN 61. Clinicians were asked to advise patients to ensure that a minimum separation distance of 15 centimetres was maintained between the implanted pacemaker and a mobile telephone and that the mobile telephone should be used with the ear furthest away from the pacemaker.
	Advice given to users is that they should check the operation of the mobile telephone with their hearing aid. New hearing aids should quote the measured input related interference level: the lower the figure, the better the immunity from mobile telephone interference.

Mobile Phones

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department has (a) supported and (b) commissioned on the impact of mobile phones on those who have a pacemaker.

Melanie Johnson: holding answer 18 January 2005
	The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and its predecessor the Medical Devices Agency (MDA) have provided input and advice to research activities undertaken by pacemaker manufacturers, through representation at European and International pacemaker safety standards committees.
	The MDA, with the co-operation of St. Georges hospital, Tooting, commissioned a small study to assess the impact of digital mobile telephones on implanted pacemakers, to confirm the appropriateness of advice issued to health service clinicians in Pacemaker Technical Note PTN61—February 1996.

MRI Scanners/Scans

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which hospitals have MRI scanners; and if he will make a statement.

Melanie Johnson: There are approximately 230 magnetic resonance imaging scanners installed in national health service hospitals in England. Information listing the hospitals has been placed in the Library.

MRI Scanners/Scans

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many MRI scanners there are available and how many hours are designated for NHS neurological use;
	(2)  whether additional MRI scans are to be purchased from Alliance Medical to reduce waiting times for people with neurological conditions.

Melanie Johnson: There are approximately 230 static magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners installed within the national health service. There are also 12 mobile MRI scanners operating through centrally funded procurement. It is for strategic health authorities and trusts locally to decide how to use this additional capacity to meet the needs of their local population.
	National MRI mobile scanning provided by Alliance Medical is adding over 15 per cent. more capacity to the NHS—up to 131,000 additional scans by 12 mobile units moving from location to location will be available to doctors to help them give patients a diagnosis including patients with neurological conditions.

MRI Scanners/Scans

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the most recent figures are for waiting times for MRI scans, broken down by (a) hospital trust and (b) primary care trust.

Melanie Johnson: This information is not held centrally.

MRI Scanners/Scans

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether additional MRI scans to be purchased through the private system are reported on by (a) UK staff and (b) staff overseas.

Melanie Johnson: The additional magnetic resonance imaging scans procured from the independent sector are being reported on by radiologists who are on the register of the General Medical Council and the appropriate specialist register for the Royal College of Radiologists, as is the case within the national health service. This is the case whether or not these qualified radiologists are performing their duties from within the United Kingdom or overseas.

MRSA

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department has commissioned into the efficacy of essential oils in killing MRSA bacteria.

Melanie Johnson: holding answer 17 January 2005
	None but the Department is aware of research in this area.

MRSA

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his strategy is for tackling the spread of MRSA outside hospital settings; and what funds his Department has set aside to tackle MRSA.

Melanie Johnson: holding answer 17 January 2005
	The Government's programme to prevent and control methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and other healthcare associated infections is outlined in "Winning Ways—Working together to reduce healthcare associated infection in England and Towards cleaner hospitals and lower rates of infection". This recognises that infections occur in a variety of healthcare settings and refers to relevant guidance such as the National Institute for Clinical Excellence's "Infection Control—Prevention of healthcare associated infection in primary and community care".
	Allocation of resources is a local decision, but we are increasing investment in the national health service by around 7.2 per cent., a year in real terms in the period from 2003–04 to 2007–08.

MRSA

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proposals are in place to combat the spread of MRSA in the London borough of Havering with particular regard to the New Oldchurch Hospital.

Stephen Ladyman: The spread of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) can be controlled by good infection control practice and the national programme to tackle such infections is outlined in "Winning Ways" and "Towards Cleaner Hospitals". The national health service has a target of halving rates of MRSA by 2008.
	The new Oldchurch Hospital, which is currently under construction, has 20 per cent. of its beds in single rooms. This will allow for the effective isolation of patients with infections.
	The trust's director of nursing has started negotiations with the private finance initiative company over cleaning schedules to ensure that these meet "Towards Cleaner Hospitals" requirements and has gained assurances that the housekeeping and domestic staff will be accountable to ward sisters and matrons.

Multiple Sclerosis

Oliver Letwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the timetable for introducing Aimspro as a licensed drug for multiple sclerosis sufferers.

Rosie Winterton: Aimspro is a product being developed by Daval International, a United Kingdom company, for a number of indications, including multiple sclerosis. Aimspro is still at an early stage of development and the company is conducting or planning to conduct a number of trials in these indications. Further information on the safety, quality and efficacy of Aimspro will be required for this product to progress to license application. Only very limited clinical data are currently available on Aimspro. Timing in relation to the granting of any product licence depends on how long it takes the company to complete the relevant development work, prepare the regulatory submission and obtain regulatory approval.

No Secrets Guidance

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the implementation of No Secrets guidance by local authorities.

Stephen Ladyman: The Department commissioned the Centre for Policy on Ageing in 2002 to analyse implementation of the Department's "No Secrets' guidance, which provides the basis for local multi agency codes of practice to prevent and tackle the abuse of vulnerable adults. The analysis indicated that local councils have met the requirements required by "No Secrets' and that considerable progress has been made towards improving co-ordination between agencies when dealing with adult abuse cases.

Out-of-hours Services

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what the reasons were for the decision of the North Yorkshire Emergency Doctors co-operative to go into administration last month; and what action the Government is taking to ensure that the quality of out-of-hours care in North Yorkshire is not jeopardised by this decision;
	(2)  what new funding is being made available so that the out-of-hours service in North Yorkshire can continue to function effectively;
	(3)  what assessment he has made of possible sources of new funding for out-of-hours services in North Yorkshire; and what funding he expects to come from (a) primary care trusts, (b) the Government and (c) other sources.

Melanie Johnson: The Department has been in close contact with the local strategic health authority and primary care trusts (PCTs) who are leading on ensuring the continuity of out-of-hours services in North Yorkshire, and that the services meet the national quality requirements.
	The Department is supporting out-of-hours services through greatly increased funding which has been allocated directly to the PCTs who commission out-of-hours services.
	Some £316 million is available this year to help fund PCT provision of out-of-hours services. In addition, PCTs are also using their unified budgets—increased by 12.7 billion from £45 billion in 2003–04 to £53.9 billion in 2005–06—to establish integrated networks of urgent care provision.

Ovarian Cancer

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what progress he has made in developing referral guidelines for ovarian cancer;
	(2)  what progress cancer networks have made with support for sufferers of ovarian cancer.

Melanie Johnson: In 1999, the Department published "Improving outcomes guidance for gynaecological cancers". One of the major outcomes of this guidance was the introduction of specialist teams to treat gynaecological cancers, including ovarian cancer.
	We have also instituted a two-week wait policy for all urgent cancer referrals. Latest figures show that 99.5 per cent. of suspected gynaecological cancer referrals were seen within the two week period.
	The Department issued general practitioner cancer referral guidelines in 2000 to assist GPs in determining those patients who need to be referred urgently to see a specialist within two weeks, those patients that can be referred for a routine appointment and those who can be safely watched at a primary care level. The guidelines include a section on gynaecological cancers.
	The referral guidelines are currently being reviewed by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE). Updated guidelines are due to be published in March 2005.

Paddington Basin Health Campus

John Wilkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health to what penalty clauses his Department is contractually liable for commercial enterprises relating to the progress of work on the Paddington Basin Health Campus project.

Stephen Ladyman: The Department has no contractual commitments to commercial enterprises relating to progress of work on the Paddington Health Campus project.

Paddington Basin Health Campus

John Wilkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what expenditure his Department has incurred to date on the Paddington Health Campus Project; and how much of that expenditure has been in consultancy fees.

Stephen Ladyman: The Department has not incurred any consultancy fees on the Paddington Health Campus project. Staff working on the project have done so as part of their normal duties and no records are kept of the total time or cost.

Paddington Basin Health Campus

John Wilkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his estimate is of the date when the Paddington Basin Health Campus will become fully operational.

Stephen Ladyman: The outline business case for the Paddington Health Campus estimates that the new facilities will be fully operational from June 2013.

Paddington Basin Health Campus

John Wilkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects his Department to receive planning permission from Westminster borough council to proceed with the Paddington Health Campus project.

Stephen Ladyman: Westminster city council issued a draft planning brief for the Paddington Health Campus site in December 2004. A masterplan will be submitted to the council in February by the Royal Brompton and Harefield and St. Mary's national health service trusts in response to the planning brief which is due to be considered by the council at a meeting in March. A planning application will follow the committee's consideration of the masterplan.

Paddington Basin Health Campus

John Wilkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS personnel have been involved in working (a) full-time and (b) part-time on the Paddington Basin Health Campus project in each year since 1997; how many of these were working in (i) his Department, (ii) health authorities and (iii) trust hospitals; and what his estimate is of the figures in each of the next eight years.

Stephen Ladyman: The following table shows the head count of personnel that have worked on, and been charged to, the Paddington Health Campus project in each of the six years from 1999–2000. In 1999, a designated team was set up to support the West London Partnership Forum, hosted by the former Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster health authority (KCWHA). The Paddington Health Campus project team was set up in 2000, hosted by St. Mary's national health service trust. There was no designated project team before 1999 and statement of case work was resourced by former HA and regional HA personnel as part of their routine strategic function. Records of personnel resources working on the project are not available prior to 1999. There have been no full time, nor regular part time, staff working on Paddington Health Campus at either the Department or the North West London strategic health authority.
	
		Personnel working on Paddington health campus
		
			   Headcount whole time Headcount part time Total headcount 
		
		
			 Pre 2000 Estimated(44) 3 0 3 
			 2000–01 Actual 5 0 5 
			 2001–02 Actual 6 1 7 
			 2002–03 Actual 14 9 23 
			 2003–04 Actual 23 13 36 
			 2004–05 Projected to March 2005 15 13 28 
		
	
	(44) KCW HA/West London Partnership Forum.

Paddington Basin Health Campus

John Wilkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what (a) capital and (b) revenue financial contributions have been requested by his Department of the Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS hospital trust towards the Paddington Basin Health Campus project in the interim period before the campus becomes operational; and whether these contributions have been approved by the Board of the Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS hospital trust.

Stephen Ladyman: The outline business case for the Paddington Health Campus identifies a capital contribution of £1 million per annum for four years and revenue support of £800,000 per annum for six years during the construction phase of the project from the Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS trusts. The resolution in support of the outline business case agreed by the trust board in December 2004 stated that capital and revenue contributions will be required from the trust during the transitional period. The Department has not requested or required either trust to make these contributions.

Paddington Basin Health Campus

John Wilkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his latest estimate is of the funds to be realised for his Department from land sales on the site of (a) Harefield hospital and (b) the Royal Brompton hospital; and what proportion of the total estimated final cost of the Paddington Basin Health Campus they constitute.

Stephen Ladyman: There is no plan within the outline business case for the Paddington Health Campus to dispose of the Harefield hospital site. In line with its undertaking to maintain employment in the area, the Royal Brompton and Harefield National Health Service Trust's plans for the Harefield site include the facilitation of a science park on that location following the move of the hospital's work to the campus. The estimated value of the Royal Brompton hospital site within the outline business case is £94.5 million. It is currently planned that, with the appropriate approvals, land sales from the Royal Brompton and Harefield and St. Mary's NHS Trusts will fund the cost of the proposed land acquisition and other capital commitments of the Paddington Health Campus. The construction cost of the Campus is assessed as £789 million at current prices, exclusive of value added tax and inflation. The estimated value of the Royal Brompton hospital represents 12 per cent., of the estimated construction cost of the campus.

Paddington Basin Health Campus

John Wilkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the consultants to whom NHS monies have been disbursed for work related to the Paddington Basin Health Campus since the beginning of the project, broken down by amount of money.

Stephen Ladyman: Table 1 shows a list of consultants and payments made for advice provided since the beginning of the Paddington Health Campus project. Table 2 summarises the total expenditure on consultants by year. From 1999, the Paddington Health Campus was the responsibility of the West London Partnership Forum, hosted by the former Kensington & Chelsea and Westminster Health Authority (KCW HA). In November 2000, responsibility for the costs of the project transferred to St. Mary's National Health Service Trust. Thousands.
	
		Table 1: Consultants employed by Paddington Health Campus project
		
			  £000 
		
		
			 Legal  
			 Berwin Leighton Paisner(45) 735 
			 Capsticks 4 
			 Finance  
			 PricewaterhouseCoopers(45) 520 
			 Mike Flaxman Associates(45) 419 
			 Ernst & Young 30 
			 Secta 131 
			 Office for Public Management 18 
			 P Adams Consultancy 22 
			 Agenda 33 
			 Sigma Hb 99 
			 Michael Hartfield 8 
			 IHG 13 
			 Newchurch/JSS Pinnacle 319 
			 Imperial College 15 
			 Finnamore 34 
			 Royal Hospitals 2 
			 De Vere Healthcare 84 
			 Design & Technical  
			 BDP 94 
			 Sheppard Robson(45) 101 
			 Durrow Management 10 
			 Turner & Townsend 105 
			 King Sturge/CML/HL 35 
			 Davis Langdon(45) 493 
			 Studio 41 332 
			 IBS (consortium inc WSP and Tangram) 911 
			 FM support costs  
			 Healthgain 10 
			 EC Harris1 170 
			 Decant, project planning/design:  
			 Love Jenkins 2 
			 TBA Services Management 23 
			 Hornagold & Hills 146 
			 ICT  
			 DQS (formerly Saba)(45) 106 
			 HealthSystems 2 
			 Silicon 16 
			 Pagoda 46 
			 Property Advice  
			 Derek Home 10 
			 Insignia Richard Ellis 24 
			 Atis Real Wetherall1 122 
			 VGA (District Valuer) 6 
			 Monatgue Evans 123 
			 Communications  
			 Nexus 19 
			 London Communications Agency(45) 12 
			 Various writers/photography 9 
			 Christow 144 
			 Audit  
			 Deloitte & Touche 14 
			 Parkhill Audit Agency 37 
			 Equipment Advice  
			 United Medical Group (UMG)(45) 77 
			 MTS 17 
			 Derek Dipper Associates 3 
			 Insurance — 
			 Willis(45) 8 
			 Accommodation Advice  
			 Hunter and Partners 25 
			 Planning Application Support  
			 GL Hearn(45) 212 
			 Terry Farrell & Partners (consortium inc Arup, Environ & Gillespie)(45) 68 
			 Ove Arup(45) 145 
			 Savell Bird & Axon 80 
			 Gordon Ingram Associates 36 
			 SOM 1,037 
			 TGA Consulting Services 5 
			 Virtual Artwork 14 
			 City of Westminster 6 
			 Museum of London Archaeology Service 6 
			 Grand Total to 31 December 2004 7,347 
		
	
	(45) Consultants currently contracted to PHC. Thousands
	
		Table 2: Paddington Health Campus adviser costs by year
		
			£000 
		
		
			 West London Partnership Forum (WLPF)—KCW HA WLPF October 2000 1,479 
			 PHC Project Team—St. Mary's NHS Trust November 2000 March 2001 231 
			 PHC Project Team—St Mary's NHS Trust April 2001 March 2002 :520 
			 PHC Project Team—St. Mary's NHS Trust April 2002 March 2003 947 
			 PHC Project Team— St. Mary's NHS Trust April 2003 March 2004 2,991 
			 Previous years' total — — 6,168 
			 PHC Project Team (St Mary's NHS Trust)(46) April 2004 December 2004 1,179 
			 Total Adviser costs to 31 December 2004 — — 7,347 
		
	
	(46) Includes accruals for estimated charges to December 20O4.

Prostate Cancer

Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the prostate cancer risk management programme.

Melanie Johnson: The prostate cancer risk management programme (PCRMP) was established to ensure that men considering a prostate specific antigen (PSA) test for prostate cancer are given accurate, balanced information concerning the benefits, limitations and risks associated with having the test.
	The Cancer Research UK primary care education research group is now in the process of evaluating the use of the packs. This includes a national survey of 400 general practitioners, a population survey of 900 men aged 40 to 75 and a series of in-depth focus groups and interviews. The evaluation is being jointly funded by the Department and Cancer Research UK.
	In addition to this evaluation, the PCRMP is supported and advised by a multi-disciplinary scientific reference group.

Prostate Cancer

Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department is funding to develop a more reliable diagnostic test for prostate cancer.

Melanie Johnson: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave on 14 October 2004, Official Report, column 356W to my hon. and learned Friend the Member for Dudley, North, (Ross Cranston).

Prostate Cancer

Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of the reliability of do-it-yourself PSA testing kits; and what plans he has to regulate their public sale.

Melanie Johnson: Do-it-yourself prostate specific antigen (PSA) test kits are in-vitro diagnostic (IVD) medical devices and are regulated throughout Europe by the European IVD Medical Devices Directive 98/79/EC. PSA test kits can be sold to the public if they meet the essential requirements for safety, quality and performance of the Directive and they bear the CE marking.
	The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) monitors the safety of these devices via its vigilance reporting system, which is a statutory requirement on device manufacturers. In addition, the MHRA operates a voluntary reporting system for both professional device users and the general public.

Special Advisers

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many special advisers there are in the Department, broken down by civil service pay-grade.

Rosie Winterton: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 21 December 2004, Official Report, columns 1640–41W by my hon. Friend, the Minister for the Cabinet Office.

Special Advisers

Andrew Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on how many occasions between 31 March 2002 and 31 March 2003 his special advisers travelled abroad in an official capacity; what places were visited; and how much each visit cost.

Rosie Winterton: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to him and the hon. Member for West Chelmsford (Mr. Burns) on 8 September 2003, Official Report, column 270W.

St. George's Hospital, Tooting

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the funding that has been allocated to St. George's Hospital, Tooting for the next 12 months.

Stephen Ladyman: The Department does not make revenue allocations to national health service trusts. Revenue allocations are made to primary care trusts, who are responsible for commissioning services from NHS trusts, such as those provided by St. George's Healthcare NHS Trust, to meet the needs of their local populations.

St. George's Hospital, Tooting

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many ward beds are available at St. George's Hospital, Tooting.

Stephen Ladyman: Data are only available for national health service trusts and not individual hospitals. In 2003–04, there were 1,000 ward beds available in St. George's Hospital NHS Trust.

Stolen Property

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the property belonging to his Department that has (a) been stolen and (b) been reported lost in each year since 1997, broken down by type of article.

Rosie Winterton: The Department takes the protection of its property very seriously and guidance for protecting property and procedures are kept under constant review. We do not record separate figures for losses and thefts. The following table shows reported departmental combined losses and thefts for the period April 1997 to November 2004.
	
		
			 Financial year Laptops lost/stolen Mobile phones lost/stolen Other information technology equipment/peripherals 
		
		
			 1997–98 23 19 Not available 
			 1998–99 19 19 Not available 
			 1999–2000 18 26 22 
			 2000–01 23 43 10 
			 2001–02 35 37 6 
			 2002–03 26 37 5 
			 2003–04 34 29 3 
			 Total 178 210 46

Waiting Times

Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients in the (a) Kingston and Surbiton constituency and (b) borough of Kingston waited for more than six months for foot and ankle surgery under a podiatric surgeon in (i) 2003 and (ii) 2004; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: Information is collected by national health service organisation rather than on a constituency or borough basis. Data for Kingston Primary Care Trust (PCT) and Kingston Hospital National Health Service Trust are shown in the table.
	
		Waiting list and booked cases: count of finished in-year admissions—distribution of time waited for foot and ankle surgery for Kingston PCT and Kingston Hospital. NHS hospitals in England 2002–03 to 2003–04
		
			  Kingston PCT 5A5 and Kingston Hospitals RAX 
			 Time waited 2002–03 2003–04 
		
		
			 Under 3 months 85 104 
			 3 to under 6 months 42 67 
			 6 months and over 139 80 
			 Total admissions 270 257 
			 Mean days 237.9 160.6 
			 Median days 198 114 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Code used OPCS 4R
	Primary codes:
	W03, W04, W15, W59, W79, X10, X11, X12, X24, X25, X27, T523, T524, T542, T594, T604, W065, W205, X022, X023, X028, XO29T558, T559, T798, T799, T808, T809, W068, W069, W788, W789, X038, X039T53, T57, T62, T64, T65, T67, T68, T69, T70, T71, T72, T74, T76, T77,T81, T83, T96, W05, W07, W08, W09, W10, W11, W12, W13, W14, W16, W17, W18, W19, W20, W21 W22, W23, W24, W25, W26, W27, W28, W30, W31, W32, W33, W35, W43, W44, W45, W52, W53, W54, W55, W56, W57, W58, W60, W61, W62, W63, W64, W65, W66, W67, W68, W69, W71, W72, W73, W74, W75, W76, W77, W8l,W83,W84,W86,W90,W91 ,W92.
	2. Secondary codes:
	Z59, Z79, Z80, Z86Z581, Z586, Z854, Z855, Z856, Z905, Z906,Z907.
	3. Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data, ie, the data are ungrossed.
	4. Time waited statistics from hospital episode statistics (HES) are not the same as the published waiting list statistics. HES provides counts and time waited for all patients admitted to hospital within a given period whereas the published waiting list statistics count those waiting for treatment on a specific date and how long they have been on the waiting list. Also, HES calculates the time waited as the difference between the admission and decision to admit dates. Unlike published waiting list statistics, this is not adjusted for self-deferrals or periods of medical/social suspension.
	5. A finished in-year admission is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider, excluding admissions beginning before 1 April at the start of the data year. Please note that admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year.
	Source:
	HES, Department of Health.